Because I know at least one person is bothered by the "Detroit Style" nomenclature used to describe this pizza, I have a few things to explain.
As evidenced by the use of round pans in one case, I'm not particularly dogmatic about the size or shape of the pan other than its greater depth when using the materials (e.g. dough, cheese) laid out in the thread, because I realize that not everyone has a traditional 8"×10" or 10"×14" pan. One could even have a 9"×13", and that's fine. It might bring comfort and restful nights for some to know I don't refer to a round pizza as Detroit Style though.
I know many people prefer a traditionally larger and rectangular pan, but I don't need that much leftover pizza sitting around.
I explicitly recognized that a rectangular pan is more traditional. And by that I meant a rectangular pan with an aspect ratio other than 1:1, as squares are also rectangles. Importantly, the pizza tastes exactly the same whether two corners are slightly closer together or all four are equidistant, so anyone making a Detroit Style pizza with four right angles parallel to its bottom has my full support.
When I baked the two 9" round variants to observe the difference in performance, I just ended up eating more pizza in one sitting than I really wanted to. In fact, I have been trying to transition from 14" to 12" rounds when a thicker crust is involved. That's why I don't like to use a larger pan.
Now for one of the reasons I don't use a smaller pan, such as 8"×10". My mixer, as most, performs better with more dough, so I try to mix a minimum of 360 g.
I prefer sauce on the dough rather than on the toppings after the bake.
I mentioned this in recognition of yet another Detroit Style tradition. Here are a few other traditions I'm not following:
- precooked tomato sauce
- steel automotive drip pan
- Wisconsin brick cheese
- pepperoni directly on the dough
Some commercial pizza operators will insist on a very thick crust, such as well over an inch. Some bake at temperatures below 450°F or above 650°F. Commercial operators don't all follow the same rulebook.
If anyone on this forum follows every one of those traditions or commercial preparations, more power to you. However, that doesn't qualify you as a gatekeeper.
Anyone can take what I have posted and follow it exactly, or they can just use what I expressly stated was critical for this pizza and use garage parts to bake their version and top it with precooked sauce. I can appreciate how the style originated and respect anyone who repurposes something that once held transmission fluid. That's extra Detroit.
The irony about the timing of this dissent is that I was going to make a sauceless version today or tomorrow because I only have enough for dipping or dollops and not enough for total coverage. Because of impending Independence Day fare, I have no need for more pizza sauce for a while.
