Sicilian/ Detroit Style Pizzas with option for starter/discard

★★★★★

Baked Goods, Breads, Dinners, Vegetarian

Ingredients

Dough:

4 1/2 cups pizza/bread flour (*1)

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast

1 T. salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups lukewarm water*

1/2-1 tsp. Dried minced garlic flakes (optional)

1/2-1 tsp. dried basil (optional)

Olive oil


Sauce:

Crushed tomatoes (about 15 oz.)

Extra virgin olive oil

Pinch sugar

Pinch salt


Desired toppings


Pepperoni (for Detroit style)

Block cheese (about 12 oz.), cut into small cubes (Detroit style)


14x14 pizza pan

Description

Pictured is a double batch for two pizzas.

Directions

Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients, using just enough water to make a soft, cohesive dough; *you may not need all of the water.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1-2 hours, until noticeably puffy.

Spread olive oil all over the pan.

Put the dough in your pan, flip it once to make sure it is coated in oil, and use your hands to gradually stretch it out towards the edges. When the dough starts to shrink back, let it relax, uncovered, for about 10 to 15 minutes, then stretch it again. You'll want the dough to fill the pan, so repeat the relax-stretch process two or three times until it does.

Let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it's noticeably puffy.

Mix and warm the sauce ingredients in the proportions desired and prepare any toppings.

Towards the end of the dough's rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bake crust for 10 to 12 minutes, until it's barely beginning to brown.

Remove the pizza from the oven.

Sicillian:
Top with sauce, cheese, then other desired toppings. If you are using pepperoni, you want to end with that.

Return the pizza to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and toppings are cooked and bubbly.
Sicillian

Detroit Style:
Top with rows of pepperoni, followed by cheese cubes. Be sure to put cheese cubes all the way up to the edge of the pan.

Spoon on rows of sauce, in the center of where your pieces will be.

Return the pizza to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and toppings are cooked and bubbly.
Detroit

Notes

*1 You can use 1 cup of starter discard. Cut the flour in the recipe down by 1 cup and the yeast down by 1 tsp.