How to Make Homemade Detroit-Style Pizza

Steps

1. 1In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the water. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the water is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then stretch and fold it: using a wet hand, grab an edge of the dough and stretch it up and in. Repeat this 8 to 10 times, grabbing a different edge each time, ultimately shaping the dough into a ball. Slick the dough with a teaspoon of olive oil. Cover the bowl with an airtight lid. Let rise overnight or for 10 to 12 hours at room temperature.
2. 2Using lightly oiled hands or a flexible bowl scraper, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it towards the center. Shape it into a rough ball. At this point, you can transfer the dough to the fridge for up to a week. I find the sweet spot to be 2-3 days. Alternatively, you can skip to preparing the pan.
3. 3Place the water in a large bowl. Add the starter and stir with a spatula to combine. Add the salt and stir again; then add the flour. Mix again until the flour is mostly incorporated. Use your hands if necessary to briefly knead in the last bits of flour. Cover vessel with a tea towel or cloth bowl cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
4. 4After 30 minutes have passed, reach into the vessel and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the vessel quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. After these two sets of stretches and folds, you should see a difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic.
5. 5If you have a straight-sided vessel, transfer the dough to it; then cover it with a tea towel or use a lidded vessel — I love this 4-quart Pyrex bowl + lid set, and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 8 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume. (A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.)
6. 6Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a rough ball. I like to do this without flour, but use flour as needed — the dough will be sticky. Use the pinkie-edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath to create a ball. Skip to preparing the pan.
7. 7Grease a 10×14-inch pan with the tablespoon of softened butter. Pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil into the center. Place the dough ball in the pan and turn to coat. Let rest for 3 to 4 hours. With lightly oiled hands, stretch the dough to fit the pan. Let the dough rest again for 1 hour.
8. 8Parbake the dough:
9. 9Preheat the oven to 500ºF.
10. 10Dimple the dough one last time with lightly oiled hands taking care not to dimple the perimeter. Transfer the pan to the oven for 8 minutes.
11. 11Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the dough to a cooling rack. Let it cool upside down on the rack for 20 minutes. Do not wash the pan.
12. 12Once the dough is cooled, you can transfer it to an airtight storage bag for 1 to 2 days at room temperature or up to 3 months in the freezer.
13. 13Preheat the oven to 475ºF. If you do have a Baking Steel or pizza stone, place it on a rack in the middle or lower third of the oven while it preheats.
14. 14Return the parbaked crust to its pan (bottom side down).
15. 15Combine the two pre-shredded cheeses for the frico crust in a medium bowl. Spread this cheese around the perimeter of the dough pressing it into the sides of the pan.
16. 16Sprinkle the hand-grated mozzarella over the interior surface of the dough.
17. 17Finish topping the pizza: spread the 1/2 cup of tomato sauce evenly over the top. Spread the pepperoni evenly over the surface, followed by the red onion. If you are using pickled jalapeños, scatter them evenly over the pizza, keeping in mind heat tolerance — they make the pizza very spicy.
18. 18Transfer pizza to the oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are caramelized to your liking. Remove the pan from the oven and let the pizza rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Carefully run a paring knife or spatula around the pan’s edges. Then, carefully remove the entire pizza from the pan, transferring it to a cutting board. If you are using the honey, drizzle it over top. Cut the pizza into 12 pieces and serve.