Detroit Style Pizza Revisited: Is Wisconsin Brick Cheese the Key?
We made this before…and it turned out great…but we didn’t have an important ingredient and had to use a substitute. Now we have it and will see if it makes a big difference!
Things to know:
What is the difference between Detroit and Chicago style pizza?
Chicago deep dish is a round, tall, buttery-crusted “pie” with cheese on the bottom and chunky sauce on top, while Detroit style is a rectangular, airy-crusted pizza with crispy, caramelized edges where cheese melts to the sides, with sauce often “racing striped” on top of toppings. Key differences are shape (round vs. rectangle), pan (deep round vs. steel rectangular), crust texture (buttery/cakey vs. fluffy/crispy), and layering (sauce on top of cheese in Chicago vs. cheese to the edges with sauce on top in Detroit).
Is Detroit pizza just focaccia?
Yes, Detroit-style pizza has a thick, chewy, focaccia-like crust, sharing similar high-hydration dough characteristics, but it’s distinguished by its “upside-down” layering (sauce on top of cheese) and crispy, caramelized cheese edges (frico) achieved by baking in a dark, oiled pan. While not exactly the same as traditional Italian focaccia, many recipes use focaccia dough as a base or adapt it for Detroit-style pizza.
What’s so special about Detroit-style pizza?
Detroit-style pizza is unique due to its square shape, thick yet airy focaccia-like crust, cheese baked to the edges for a caramelized ‘frico’ crust, and sauce applied in “racing stripes” on top after baking, creating a crispy, cheesy exterior with a soft interior and a tangy contrast. It’s traditionally baked in deep, rectangular steel pans, inspired by auto parts trays, giving it a distinctive texture and edge.
What kind of cheese is Wisconsin Brick cheese?
Brick cheese is a semi-hard, smear-ripened, cow’s milk cheese that originated in Wisconsin in the late 1800s. The name comes from the bricks originally used by cheesemakers to press the moisture from the cheese.
Ingredients
DOUGH
288 g of water at 80-85F
2.4 g rapid rise yeast
402 g bread flour
8.4 g salt
(Traditional Detroit Style would use Lloyd pans. What I have are a 8″ x 12″ cast iron baking dish and a 8″ x 12″ very close to Lloyd style pan. If you have different sized pans than I do, ratio out the above ingredients. If you do not, you risk having a crust that is too thin or thick or crust that will not crisp up as well)
6 T oil (olive, avocado, etc) to coat pans
1. Place the above ingredients into a stand mixer with a dough hook and mix until you have a smooth dough.
2. Cover bowl with plastic and let it sit in warm spot for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 min, build more strength into the dough by grabbing an of dough, stretching it out, and folding back over. Rotate the dough 45-90 degreed and repeat 5-6 more times.
4. After these stretch and folds, tuck and fold the dough a few more times to shape and stretch the dough into a taught ball.
5. Oil a large glass bowl with olive oil, place the dough in the bowl, wrap with plastic wrap and set in warm place for 2 hours. After the 2 hours dough should have doubled in size, be buoyant, and slightly bounce back when poked.
6. To prep pans for dough, add 2-3 tbsp oil into each pan and smear over bottom and sides
7. Flip dough onto floured surface and divide in half.
8. Lay half of the dough into each pan and gently press to spread.
9. Cover pans and allow dough to relax for 30 minutes.
10. After the 30 minutes, gently stretch and press dough to cover the bottom of the pans
11. Cover again and let rise for 45-60mins.
For the Sauce:
1 28oz can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
1 T of minced fresh oregano
2 T of minced fresh basil
4 cloves minced garlic
splash of olive oil
Place a splash of olive oil in a skillet on medium low heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Place the tomatoes into the skillet, crushing each with your hand as you add them, then pour the remained of the contents of the can into the skillet. Add the basil and oregano and a splash of olive oil. Bring to a simmer as you stir, then remove from heat once the sauce thickens (about 20-25 minutes). This sauce needs to be good and thick, thicker than you would use for a pan pizza. For a sauce with a bite, add crushed red pepper to taste.
TO BUILD AND BAKE THE PIZZA
2 T Garlic Paste
1 T Olive Oil
2.5 cups brick cheese, grated on the largest holes of grater (If you cannot find Wisconsin Brick Cheese, use a mixture of low moisture mozzarella and Monty Jack Cheese)
6-8 oz of cooked Italian Sausage
1 stick of pepperoni, sliced about 1/16″ thick (If you use pre-sliced, make sure it has a natural casing. This will give you those pepperoni cups filled with delicious pepperoni oil)
Grated parm
any other toppings of your choice
1. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 550F
2. Mix together the garlic and olive oil, then brush evenly over the crust.
3. Spread shredded cheese over the dough
4. Spoon sauce in three thick lines, lengthwise down each dough, leaving the cheese uncovered in the middle and on either side of the lines of sauce
5. Add Italian Sausage
6. Add pepperoni (or toppings of choice) on top followed by grated parm
7. Load pan directly on top of pizza stone and bake for 16-18 minutes. I recommend baking each pizza separately (one at a time) for ultimate crispiness. ENJOY!
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