Becoming a convert or at least appreciative of Detroit-style pizza
The headline for a seriouseats.com pizza story and recipe read: "Detroit-Style Pizza Is the Best Thing You're Gonna Make This Year." Even if you're from the Chicago-area, as I am, few pizza lovers wouldn't consider the possibility of making and then tasting a Detroit-style pizza.
Upfront admission: I've never stepped foot in Detroit, nor have I ever sampled that pizza. What's the difference between a Detroit-style pizza and a Chicago thin-crust pizza? More than you might think.
A Detroit pizza isn't round; it's rectangular. And, it's not just any old rectangle. No. For my Detroit-style pizza, I had to use the same pan used in Detroit: a 10-by-14-by-2.5-inch pan. J. Kenji López-Alt, the article and recipe's creator, leads you right to that exact pan on amazon.com www.amazon.com/dp/B01FY5PHIK/. Since I didn't own one, I bought one.
Did my partner, Nan, have a somewhat skeptical look in her eye when she saw that this pizza pan cost nearly $38? Yes, yes, she did. Reassuring Nan that this recipe wouldn't work right without it did nothing to reduce her skepticism.
My new pan has a safe, nonstick surface which is necessary since, as you'll soon see, the pizza's cheese runs down the pan's sides and would be difficult (read: nearly impossible) to remove once baked.
López-Alt tested numerous pizza dough recipes before arriving at just the right one with bread flour (I used organic) that was a highly hydrated (read: wet and sticky) dough with just the right crisp exterior and perfect "chew" interior.
My food processor worked perfectly for making this dough, and the instant yeast cut out the "proofing" step required in most yeast doughs. Everything goes into the food processor, and the added water is room temperature.
Why does that work? The friction produced in the food processor's bowl warms the dough.
This dough turned out wet and very sticky and made me wish I'd coated my hands with olive oil before retrieving it from the processor. (Note to self: next time, lube-up your hands before handling this dough).
Since the dough needs to rise for two hours, I made López-Alt's Detroit sauce from scratch. Making the sauce easily gave me enough time to simmer it and set it aside before assembling the pizza.
The only herb in López-Alt's Detroit pizza sauce is oregano; there is no mention of basil. As the new sauce simmered my kitchen filled with the same aroma it did 55 years ago when I made my first pizza and sauce. Aromas carry memories with them.
López-Alt uses "brick" cheese; not mozzarella for his authentic pizza. My assumption that brick cheese could easily be found anywhere was as wrong as expecting a blizzard in July. I used his suggested "jack" (read: Monterrey jack) cheese.
In the end, my version of López-Alt's Detroit Pizza turned out well, and Nan loved the crispy edges from the crusty cheese.
Here's how I made López-Alt's Detroit Pizza. If you make it, let me know what you think.
• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at don@ theleanwizard.com.