The popularity of Detroit Pizza has boomed worldwide with everyone asking for these square, deep dish pizzas. If you’ve not heard of the trend until now you may be wondering ‘what makes them so special?’.

Well, we have put together a step by step tutorial so you can give them a go yourself – if you haven’t already! Detroit Pizza is a truly unique and well-loved contribution to the pizza industry from the American Motor City. Be warned, these pictures will make you hungry…

Detroit Pizza baked with Lloyd Pans Detroit Pans.
Photo and pizza credit to @pizzaislovely on Instagram.

Although it’s a rectangle (commonly baked in sizes 8×10″ or 10×14″) it is referred to as square pizza. This may be confusing, but it’s all part of Detroit Pizza tradition!

Detroit pizza dough is light, airy and resembles focaccia or Sicilian-style dough as opposed to thick, heavy Chicago-style pizza dough.

Now, this is where it gets interesting… for authentic Detroit pizza you basically have to reverse the usual way to load pizza. Firstly, toppings go directly onto the dough, followed by cheese – true Detroit pizza uses Wisconsin Brick Cheese, not mozzarella. Finally, ladle on top your sauce – hence the nickname ‘red top pizza’!

______________________

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

For the dough:

- 1KG Strong Flour
- 700ml Water
- 5g Instant Dry Yeast
- 25g Salt

For the toppings:

- Pizza sauce
- Wisconsin Brick Cheese (we’ve used mozzarella)
-Your choice of pizza toppings

______________________

How to make Detroit Pizza

1. We assume you’re not total pizza newbies so let’s say you’ve got your dough prepped. (If you haven’t, we have a great video here on how to make pizza dough.) Once your dough is ready, take it from the mixer and rest it for 30 minutes in a container. After 30 minutes, pop your dough on a clean table ready to portion.

2. Make sure you oil every container that will come into contact with your dough so it doesn’t stick.

3. Measure your dough out into smaller portions. You can calculate the correct dough ball size by using your tray/pan dimensions. The following formula will help:

(TRAY LEGNTH CM x TRAY WIDTH CM) / 2 = ______

For example, this was the formula we used for our 10 x 14″ Detroit Style Pizza Pans:

(25cm x 35cm) / 2 = 437g dough ball.

4. Once you have portioned out your dough, fold it into a nice, round dough ball and place it into your (previously oiled) container.

5. Wrap the container using cling film or a lid, and leave the dough resting for another 2 hours so it can prove.

6. We are using Detroit Pans from Lloyd Pans, distributed in the UK by White’s Foodservice Equipment. It has a special Lloyd Pans PSTK coating which makes it totally non-stick, metal utensil safe and there’s no need to season your pans before use. Take a look at Detroit Pans in the UK by clicking here. Proving/stacking lids are also available.

7. Generously oil the pan you are using. Then, take the dough ball and roll it out inside the pan. If it shrinks back just leave it for a couple of minutes, after which it should be easier to stretch.

8. Once the dough is rolled out in the pans and covering the whole surface, cover with the Detroit Pans lid. Give the dough one final prove before loading your masterpiece. We recommend at least 1 hour.

9. After an hour, dock your dough to get the bubbles out, or gently pinch any bubbles that have formed during your prove.

Once this is done add your toppings! We’ve gone with pepperoni – you can add anything you like (straight onto the dough!).

10. Then, add your cheese. Authentic Detroit Pizza is made with Wisconsin Brick Cheese. This is famously hard to get hold of in the UK, so we’ve gone with good old mozzarella (it was still delicious, may we add!).

To finish off, load your sauce on TOP of the cheese for that gorgeous red-top pizza look.

11. Bake in the oven at 250°C for 14-18 minutes (depending on your oven).

12. Cut into squares in true Detroit pizza style and enjoy!

We would LOVE to see pictures of your Detroit Pizzas so please send them into [email protected] or tag us on social media!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhitesFoodserviceEquipment/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whitesfoodequip/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/whitesfoodequip

Share via:

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

We celebrate Franco Manca's 7th store opening this year (all with Marana Forni ovens!) and Yard Sale Pizza opening their brand new store with a GENIUS® Marana Forni oven system.

Friday 20th September 2019... A busy 24 hours!

Thursday night was spent in London celebrating the opening of the latest Yard Sale Pizza store. Their new shop is in Hoxton and it is their first one with a Marana Forni 150 Genius® pizza oven system.

This innovative oven allows Yard Sale to cook their famous 18” pizzas perfectly without the need to turn them in the oven! This new Yard Sale Pizza opening is guaranteed to be a success with an oven that helps keep kitchen operations run smoothly.

Next stop was Manchester to visit the latest new Franco Manca store - this will be the 7th opening this year! All of which are kitted out with stunning Marana Forni ovens. 

This store has the 130 Rotating oven with the Su&Giu® function. Opening next week it is sure to be a success, and the good people of Manchester get to sample the same delicious Sourdough pizzas that diners have enjoyed in the other 49 existing restaurants. 

We are honoured to be part of their new store openings and wish both of these established and respected operators every deserved success.

If you'd like to know more about either of the ovens in these stores call us on 01527 528841 or visit the Marana Forni brands page on our website. There you can see endless images of those that are part of the Marana Forni family enjoying their ovens.

Take a look at the Yard Sale Pizza website here.

Take a look at the Franco Manca website here.

Marana Forni Traditional Pizza Ovens

Marana Forni began in the late 1980's, thanks to the intuition of it's owner Ferdinando Marana. The company began producing and selling wood, gas, pellet and combo-fired traditional pizza ovens for baking pizza and foods in general. Today, the company is synonymous all over the world with prestige, quality and innovation. The Marana Forni brand represents innovative technology, hand in hand with tradition. Their beautiful ovens were soon installed throughout Italy, Europe and more than 70 other countries worldwide. For the most part, this was achieved by word of mouth - the result of satisfied pizza chefs relying on products built using materials and technology of excellent quality. Marana Forni ovens have been chosen for the most important events dedicated to pizza, such as the World Pizza Chef Championships since 1995, as well as the French and Spanish championships. 

A company that has won awards for it's innovations such as the patented SU&GIU® pizza oven, with a rotating deck which can also be lifted up and down to capture the heat in the oven, and the GENIUS Fast Casual oven (an oven that can be set to cook pizza with just one turn of the pizza deck, without the manual intervention from a pizza chef); Marana Forni also keeps it's faith in traditional pizza ovens, with the Marana Fisso 120 and the Marana Napulé ovens:

Marana Fisso 120

This static pizza oven is constructed with traditional techniques and materials combined with the technological innovation and passion unique to a Marana Forni. Cooking quality is guaranteed by the choice of materials used and the specific way in which they are mixed. There are no other pizza ovens like a Marana - the result of painstaking development and meticulous testing, strictly performed at the Verona headquarters. The cooking surface has micro-perforations for easier expulsion of moisture from the pizza, and for better, more fragrant cooking - no burning and of course no cooking of surplus flour. Special technical features ensure that this oven complies with legal requirements on quality and safety. 

Marana Napulé

The wood- and gas-fired professional Static oven, certified by the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana). This is the outcome of Marana Forni's intensive cooperation and development programme undertaken in association with the master Pizzaioli of Naples. Impressive teamwork, in which the experience of the Neapolitan Pizzaioli and the technological skill of Marana's craftsmen, together created a unique appliance certified by the AVPN, the Genuine Neapolitan Pizza Association, for both wood- and gas-fired operation. Vesuvian lava stone is included in the exclusive mix of materials used for the ovens construction. 

 

These beautiful, innovative ovens can be covered to match your restaurant, either with a bare or coloured steel cupola, or a mosaic tiled steel cupola; the cupola can be customised with the colour of your choice, choosing from more than 2000 colours on the RAL, or metal brush colours - vibrant metal colours emphasising the hand-made brushed finish of the cupola. To see more, go to our Marana Forni gallery by clicking here or read more about Marana Forni ovens here.

 

When creating your dough, you probably put a lot of time and effort into choosing the correct ingredients, as well as ensuring that you give each batch the time and love it deserves. However, that’s just not enough - in order to achieve a perfect product, the right equipment must also be used. There are two types of dough mixers available – professional and commercial. It is definitely worthwhile investing in a professional dough mixer, and here’s why:

Dough Mixers are an essential element for ensuring success – they’re not just for mixing raw ingredients, but to also push water into flour and increase absorption through mechanical action. The better the dough mixer is at achieving this, the more water will be absorbed into the flour, increasing the quality of your dough.

A professional dough mixer always has double speed, and sometimes a double engine too; the double speed oxygenates the dough very well and much faster by increasing the mechanical action of pushing water into flour, therefore increasing the hydration. In addition, professional models give a thoroughly mixed, homogeneous batch of dough with significant elasticity. Having two motors increase these capabilities even more because, when double speed is activated, it accelerates the spiral, allowing the bowl to rotate at the same speed and increase the friction between the spiral and dough. It has been found that with the commercial mixer less hydration occurs and, overall, they produce relatively inelastic dough.

Following this, professional dough mixers have rounded bowls, and commercial dough mixers often have bowls with sharp corners where dough can get stuck and become unreachable, especially when the quantity of the dough is small. The material of the bowl is also important – professional die-cast bowls are made of a material that reduces vibration and heat conduction, and thus it doesn’t heat the dough as much as a commercial mixer by a fair amount. Commercial mixer bowls often vibrate a lot, conducting heat and warming the dough which leaves the chef with difficulty when handling the product once mixed.

The size and shape of the spiral is very important also – professional mixers have spirals with a radius that is smaller at the end and with the smallest distance between the end of the spiral and the bottom of the bowl. The commercial mixers sometimes have the same shape and size spiral, but often with larger distances between the end of the spiral and the bottom of the bowl, giving a lower quality knead, sometimes unsatisfactory, compared to professional mixers.

In summary, a professional dough mixer is a definite worthwhile investment if you wish for your product to be adequately hydrated, not over-heated, and if you wish your dough to be correctly kneaded without manual intervention.

Some facts and quotes in this blog post were taken from the book 'Let’s Start From the Flour' by Luigi Ricchezza.

If you’d rather watch and not read, here is Davide D’Auria from Eurostar Commodities, an Italian Pizza Expert, showing why he prefers a professional mixer:

 

White’s Foodservice Equipment is coming to Hotelympia again, ready and excited to showcase our range of Professional Kitchen Equipment!

It’s that exiting time of the year – the UK’s leading hospitality and foodservice event, where thousands of us come together in London and show off our brilliant products, giving customers the perfect equipment for them to deliver the best quality food!

We will be exhibiting at stands 1228 and 1760 – come and say hello!

Here’s a summary of some of the fantastic professional kitchen equipment brands we will be showcasing on our stands:

 

MARANA FORNI:

Established in the late 1980s in Verona, Italy, in under 30 years these manufacturers have gone on to achieve major landmarks in the history of pizza ovens using wood, gas, and combined systems – revolutionising the way pizza is cooked! Marana Forni created the first wood-fired rotating oven and is known as a pioneer in the industry. All ovens can be delivered ready assembled, or they can be built on site by our experienced technicians and are backed up by efficient after-sales service. Marana Forni continues to upgrade its products, meeting every kind of requirement with models, fuel types, sizes and finishing that have enabled the company to work in more than 75 countries around the world. These ovens are now also approved for use in clean air zones throughout the UK and in 2016 we launched a new traditional fixed base AVPN approved oven, in either gas or wood, specifically for the production of real Neapolitan pizzas. A solid brand that is synonymous with prestige, Italian style and exclusive quality!

 

 

CHARCOA:

The Charcoa grill is the ultimate in charcoal grilling and theatre style cooking using solid lumpwood charcoal which allows for high cooking temperatures. Completely open at the front with high temperature glass doors under the grill to allow for extra visual enhancement. The range of styles and sizes make this a truly unique product that is tailored to the customers’ specific needs and requirements. Cooking over hot embers is one of the oldest known cooking methods known. The Charcoa has perfected this to suit today’s needs with a controllable, user-friendly, modern design, manufactured to the highest standards and allowing for the rigors of heavy-duty use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XLT CONVEYOR OVENS AND HOODS:

 XLT are global manufacturers of best-in-class conveyor pizza ovens and exhaust hoods designed for pizza takeaway and delivery chains, and independents alike. These pizza ovens are setting new standards for fast, reliable and consistent baking backed by a 5 year parts and labour warranty.

 

 

 

 

GI METAL:

 Made in Italy to the highest standard, these tools are a must for any pizziola. A huge range that includes tools for real Neapolitan pizza production, as well as for gluten-free products. From robust to lightweight, Gi Metal have everything you could possibly need to produce and serve pizza. Here at White’s Foodservice Equipment we hold a large amount of stock at all times, ready for immediate delivery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DORI:

For over 50 years, Dori’s highly skilled carpenters have been producing the best in handmade pizza and food serving boards. Dori products are 100% natural, with no bindings or glue. The peels are unique for handling, lightness and longevity compared to mass produced tools. All serving boards come treated to ensure food safety, and all wood used is RECC approved.

 

 

 

 

ELIANI:

Eliani’s mixers and dough rounders are recommended by the best chefs in the world because of their thoughtful and innovative design – the mixers work by mimicking typical movement of human arms, working and oxidising the dough, whilst obtaining maximum homogeneity and uniformity of the mixture without heating. The dough rounders are the best piece of professional kitchen equipment way to produce perfectly formed dough balls easily, consistently and quickly. Eliani’s mixers and rounders are a pizza chef’s best friend, and the perfect tools to obtain perfect pizza dough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVO:

An innovative, award-winning piece of professional kitchen equipment, Evo’s Event ventless griddle comes with a built-in ductless downdraft ventilation system, allowing you to place it anywhere to provide a versatile cooking platform, allowing you to cook and prepare meals without the restrictions imposed by externally vented hoods and duct work. The innovative filtration system provides full containment of smoke, grease and cooking odours. The Evo Event was awarded the 2015 Kitchen Innovation Award by the National Restaurant Association, as well as Best New Product in Kitchen Design by HX: The Hotel Experience!

 

 

 

 

 

MATURMEAT AND PRIMEAT:

A range of dry-aging and meat-maturing cabinets that set the standard worldwide. From built-in cabinets to 360 degree viewing pass-through cabinets, all are built with many patents and unique features to suit every application – from a small butchery shop to award-winning fine-dining establishments. Models are also available for the drying, smoking and salting of fish, safe-aging and maturing of cheese and the perfect fermentation, drying and seasoning of traditional salami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GHISANATIVA:

The range of beautiful and unique products are manufactured by Fonderia Finco in Campo San Martino, Northern Italy. The Ghisanativa cookware range is made from extremely pure cast iron, an original material that is undisputed in the kitchen over the centuries. The range includes grill plates and hot plates – the perfect choice for perfectionists, as well as burners that include the Elios Plus, Elios Wok and Elios Infrared – powerful cookers that provide you with the flexibility required in today’s environment. The cookers are all compatible with the Sothis professional cooking cart – using the best technology, quality and design, this cart is the perfect tol for cooking shows, flambe cooking and show cooking. All items in the Ghisanativa range are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

 

 

 

As you can see we’ve got some amazing pieces of professional kitchen equipment to showcase to you this year!

Hotelympia at ExCel London, 5-8 March 2018. Pop the date in your diary and get down to stands 1228 and 1760!

 

Wooden serving boards and accessories are spreading like wildfire across the UK restaurant industry, fast becoming the most popular and trendy way to serve food. Dori is an Italian, family-run company that has been producing quality wooden serving boards and pizza restaurant accessories for over 50 years. Their quality materials and creative craftsmanship together produce the perfect tools for a variety of uses. You will easily see the difference in their unique design and quality products, compared to mass-produced wooden serving boards.  

Dori’s handmade pizza peels and wooden serving boards are unique for handling, lightness and longevity. Every product produced is made from wood which is RECC approved and considered the very best material for the presenting of traditional Italian cheeses such as Regganio Parmesan, Grana Padano and Roman Pecorino.

Wood is naturally hygroscopic, absorbing and attracting moisture which helps maintain food for greater holding and serving.

 

 

Dori items we stock include long and short handle pizza peels, wooden serving boards, cutting boards, paddles, table stands, all of various shapes and sizes and available for you to order online before 2pm and receive the Next Working Day. Dori manufacture a vast range of beech and beech plywood servers and peels; they come with a variety of treated and untreated wood for cooked or uncooked foods, as well as fantastic advice on wood maintenance and food safety.

All Dori items are available to customise and personalise with your branding. For a small fee initially to make your metal branding logo, after that we can heat brand your design onto any Dori item you order - for just 50 pence a piece!

A truly original and beautiful brand with unique items… what are you waiting for? Order your wooden serving boards and accessories online now for our best prices and Next Working Day Delivery!

 

“The largest Pizza Expo in the world” returns!

The International Pizza Expo at the Las Vegas Conference Centre is a date to pop in your diary!

Hosting seminars, workshops and menu demonstrations, it is a fantastic way to network with your fellow pizza professionals! Running from the 19^th until the 22^nd March 2018, The International Pizza Expo will be celebrating it’s 34^th consecutive year of the nation’s fastest growing show in the food service industry – ranked as one of the Top 200 trade shows in the U.S.

Some of the companies that will be exhibiting at the International Pizza Expo 2018 will include XLT ovens and Gi Metal, both supplied by White’s Foodservice Equipment Ltd.

XLT manufacture the highest quality conveyor ovens and cost efficient exhaust hoods for casual dining establishments, and are used by some of the world’s largest and most well known pizza chains. Benefits of the XLT conveyor oven are high quality results, even pizza bakes, easy controls and super quiet operation.

You can find XLT at Booth 2714.

Gi Metal produce pizza accessory tools that focus on quality, practicality and beauty worldwide. Gi Metal tools are sought after because of their high level of quality whilst also being fantastic value for money. They have a wide range of products on offer including pizza peels (perforated, solid, small, Napoletana), brushes, pizza peel racks, cutters, pizza dough boxes and lots more!

You can find Gi Metal at Booth 1646.

However, if you just cannot wait until March 2018 to take a look at these products, feel free to call White’s Foodservice Equipment on 01527 528841 and book an appointment to see our beautiful showroom, where these brands and more are available to try in our Test Kitchen all year round! We are based in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Naples, which is the town famous for creating Italy’s most famous export, the pizza, is currently hosting the Napoli Pizza Village in celebration of that fact. First held in 2011, the event it now being held for the 6^th consecutive year. The event took place from 6^th to the 11^th of September At the event you could sample the best examples of the original Neapolitan pizza and among other things at the festival you can learn how to make the perfect pizza dough as well as the traditional tomato sauce.
The highlight of the event is the World Pizza Maker Championship. Held for the 15^th time, it is returning to Naples this year again. The contest gathers the best pizza making experts in the world in location to fight it out. The contest consists of 8 sections that includes the likes of the best classical pizza, deep-dish pizza and a freestyle contest among others.

The Napoli Pizza Village, 2016 was the best opportunity for a tourist to have enjoyed the beautiful city of Naples. Don’t worry, if you missed it this year, you can always come back next year and join in with the fun.

 

 

 

With over 30 years of history, the DoughPro^™ name has been at the forefront of pizza cooking equipment.
Now united under the ProLuxe banner all the DoughPro^™ manual and automatic dough presses have been constructed with their patented technology and protected under the ProLuxe exclusive limited lifetime warranty.

Our DoughPro^™ inventory consists of DP1100 Dough Press, PP1818 Economy Dough Press, DoughPro DP1300 Pizza Dough Presses, BC2325 Bun Caramelizer, CS1500 Heavy Duty 2 Sided Grill, Doughpro Sl1577P / 2-Sided Split Grill and DoughPro CSD1515 Sandwich Grill/Toaster among others.

ProLuxe™ ProGrill™ products combine innovation and functionality to
 meet your specific needs. ProLuxe Pizza Accessories are a pizza maker’s best friend. Our new Bun Caramelizer and the split-lid 
Panini Grill feature a uniquely embedded heating element, which is
 backed by the exclusive ProLuxe limited lifetime warranty. This advanced patented technology results in even heating and better recovery. In addition, our patented leveling system ensures that products up to 3 inches thick will be grilled evenly. ProGrill™ counter top equipment is easy to clean and provides necessary guards for maximum operator safety, consistent quality and performance.

 

World Pizza Maker Championship 2016, is in its 15th edition, makes its comeback in the heart of Naples and will be host along the most charming waterfront in the world, in Lungomare Caracciolo within the biggest and more extraordinary event in the pizza world, Napoli Pizza Village. It will be held on 6^th and 7^th September.
A cue for a loyal contest in a funny, informal and friendly context but also a great competence, the one distinguishing the noble craft of Pizzaiuolo from time immemorial. Next edition will have an even greater media attraction and a wide public participation as always happens at Napoli Pizza Village.

8 CONTEST SECTIONS:
- S.t.g. Neapolitan pizza Trofeo Caputo
- Classical pizza
- Deep-dish pizza
- Meter pizza/shovel
- "In Season" pizza
- Gluten-free pizza
- Junior pizza contest
- Freestyle contest.

By - Lungomare Caracciolo - NAPLES

Info: http://www.pizzavillage.it/en/world-pizza-maker-championship