The Conant Avenue Under-Cover Supreme
Chapter 3 — The Pies
Detroit pizza wasn't born in a culinary institute; it was forged in repurposed blue-steel automotive drip trays at a Six Mile speakeasy in 1946. This pie is a working-class miracle of thermodynamics. We're talking a high-hydration dough hitting the hot steel of a hard-anodized pan to deep-fry the undercarriage, with a heavy payload of pepperoni and vegetables trapped securely under a matrix of molten Wisconsin Brick cheese. You bake it hard, pry the blackened frico edges from the pan, and hit it with thick racing stripes of red sauce last. It's a heavy, gorgeous thing, and you have to respect the architecture.
Ingredients
- high-protein bread flour231 g
- water173 g
- fine sea salt4.6 g
- diastatic malt powder2.3 g
- instant dry yeast1.15 g
- olive oil3 tbsp
- natural casing pepperoni80 g
- ham60 g
- green bell pepper40 g
- white onion40 g
- cremini mushrooms40 g
- Wisconsin Brick cheese280 g
- crushed tomatoes200 g
- olive oil10 g
- garlic powder1/2 tsp
- dried oregano1/2 tsp
- dried thyme1/4 tsp
- sugar1/2 tsp
- salt2 g
Method
- 01
Whisk the bread flour, diastatic malt powder, and yeast with the warm water until a shaggy, wet dough forms.
Do not knead yet. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest to autolyse for 30 minutes. At 75 percent hydration, this dough will be highly sticky—this is entirely normal and essential for achieving an open, focaccia-like crumb.
- 02
Sprinkle the fine sea salt evenly over the rested dough and pinch it in with wet hands.
Perform a series of 4 to 6 stretch-and-folds by grabbing the underside of the dough, pulling it upward, and folding it over itself. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, performing one more stretch-and-fold halfway through, until the volume increases by 50 percent.
- 03
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled, airtight container and immediately move it to the coldest part of your refrigerator for 18 to 24 hours.
This cold retardation unlocks the enzymatic benefits of the diastatic malt, creating complex flavor profiles and relaxing the gluten network so the dough won't aggressively shrink when stretched.
- 04
Coat a 10x14-inch hard-anodized aluminum Detroit pan heavily with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, drop the cold dough in, and gently dimple it outward.
The cold dough will likely spring back and refuse to reach the corners. Do not force it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to relax, then gently stretch it completely into the four corners. Cover again and proof in a warm spot for 1.5 to 2.5 hours until the dough is profoundly bubbly and climbing the greased walls.
- 05
Combine the crushed tomatoes, 10g olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce reduces into a thick paste. A watery sauce will seep into the bread and compromise the structural integrity of the final bake. Set aside and keep warm.
- 06
At least 45 minutes before baking, position a baking steel on your lowest oven rack and preheat the oven to 525°F or 550°F.
You need the intense conductive heat of that steel driving into the heavy-gauge aluminum pan to effectively fry the bottom crust in its own oil, perfectly mimicking a commercial deck oven.
- 07
Gently press the fully proofed dough to deflate any massive air pockets, then lay down an edge-to-edge blanket of sliced pepperoni directly onto the raw dough.
Scatter the diced ham, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms evenly over the pepperoni. Trapping the vegetables under the cheese prevents them from incinerating at high heat while allowing the pork fat to render directly into the porous bread beneath.
- 08
Distribute the cubed cheese over the toppings, aggressively packing an excess of cubes against the metal perimeter of the pan.
This technique is non-negotiable. The perimeter cheese must physically touch the metal sidewalls so it can melt down the sides, fry in the hot oil, and forge the blackened, caramelized frico crown that defines the Detroit style.
- 09
Slide the pan directly onto the blazing hot baking steel and bake for 12 to 16 minutes.
Watch closely. Pull the pizza when the center cheese bubbles golden and the frico edges are visibly dark brown to almost black, pulling slightly away from the pan.
- 10
Run a thin metal spatula around the edges immediately upon removal, then lift the entire pizza out of the pan and onto a wire cooling rack.
Do not leave it in the pan; trapped steam will instantly destroy the fried undercarriage you just worked so hard to build. Let it rest for 5 minutes, ladle the warm, reduced tomato sauce in three thick vertical racing stripes over the top, cut into 8 squares, and serve.
Notes
Sourcing Wisconsin Brick Cheese.
Authentic Detroit pizza requires Wisconsin Brick, a high-fat, semi-hard, smear-ripened cheese. If you cannot source it, a 50/50 blend by weight of whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella and Monterey Jack replicates the exact fat-to-moisture ratio needed to melt properly without burning before the thick crust cooks.
Baker's Percentages.
For the technical baker scaling this formula up or down: Bread Flour (100%), Water (75%), Fine Sea Salt (2%), Diastatic Malt Powder (1%), Instant Dry Yeast (0.5%).