French Onion Detroit Pizza
This Detroit style fluffy pizza crust with crispy edges is topped with a layer of deeply caramelized French onion and tons of cheese! The flavors are soooo good together! The soft and fluffy bead was the perfect vehicle for the savory sweet onions and the creamy cheese on top.
The inspiration for this recipe
I suddenly was craving a French onion pizza but I couldn’t decide if I should make it New York style, deep dish, or Detroit style. I did a little poll on my Instagram story and i was really close! Detroit style edged the others out by a couple votes and I set out to make it shortly after.
Make the dough
I usually knead pizza dough by hand but most of the recipes I found for Detroit style pizza had a very high hydration so I decided a food processor would be better than getting all sticky with dough. Flour, yeast, salt and water into the processor, then let it blend for 5 minutes.
Put the dough onto your work surface on top of a mound of flour and stretch and fold it into a ball shape with the flour on the outsides.
Let it rise overnight, or at least for a few hours in the fridge. Then finally take it out of the fridge a few hours before you want to bake it. I flipped the dough upside down when I took it out of the fridge. Every once in a while you can stretch it out a bit do it eventually fits perfectly into the pan.
Caramelize the onions
Cook the onions with a little butter and oil for about an hour until they drastically reduce in size and become deep brown.
I added a little sherry, broth, and thyme to form a sauce that tasted like french onion soup! Sherry is traditional, but I have also done it with vermouth, and bourbon, so it’s up to you. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy sherry for this.
Build the French onion Detroit pizza
Add the onion mixture on top of the dough, then the cheese. There shouldn’t be a true crust for a detroit style pizza, but I did leave about 1/4 inch of space around the edges when I added the onions. Then let the cheese just go right to the edge.
Baking the French onion Detroit pizza
Preheat the oven to 450 and bake the pizza on the floor of the oven. If you have a pizza stone or steel. you can put the pan right onto it on the bottom of the oven. This will help get the bottom extra crispy!
Serve the French onion Detroit pizza
After it cools a few minutes you can pop it out onto a cutting board. If you want to ensure an extra crispy bottom, put it onto a cooling rack first for 5 minutes. Then you can cut it and serve!
The flavors in this pizza are simple yet incredible. The extra time taken with each ingredients ensures that the final result will be fantastic!
And just look at that crispy bottom!
So fluffy and tasty.
Twists on this recipe
You could add some mushrooms to the onions. Or of course a little meat if you wanted. Some sausage or ground beef would be good, but shaved steak would be even better. At that point it might be a cheesesteak pizza though!
I used these two detroit pizza recipes as a guide. If you have never made a classic french onion soup recipe, this is a good one!
For more fun twists on french onion soup, check out my vindaloo onion soup, these French onion stuffed onions, or his French onion soup dumpling!
French Onion Detroit Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
dough
- 300 grams flour
- 5 grams instant yeast
- 9 grams salt
- 240 grams water
toppings
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 large onions sliced thin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry (or other alcohol of your choice)
- 1/2 cup chicken or beef or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 6 ounces gruyere cheese grated
- 6 ounces fontina cheese (could use mozzarella)
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Add the flour, yeast, and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the water and process for about 4-5 minutes to knead the dough.
- Add some flour to a clean work surface and pour the dough onto it. It will be wet! Use your hands to form the dough into a nice ball shape with the flour helping to form the surface of the ball of dough.
- Brush oil onto an 8 x 12 baking dish. Ideally this is at least 4 inches deep, and darker metal.
- Add the dough ball to the baking dish and brush with oil. Flatten it out a bit and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.
Make the pizza
- Take the dough out 2 hours early. Flip the dough onto the other side and spread it out in the pan. If it doesn't stretch all the way, don't force it. Cover and let it rest for an hour.
- Meanwhile, start the onions. Add the oil and butter to a pan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for about an hour. Slowly stir and continue to caramelize to brown and soften, adjusting the heat as needed. In the end they should be about 1/10th the volume and a deep brown color.
- Check on the pizza dough and spread it out more if needed. Use your fingers to dimple the dough all over so it has a bumpy surface.
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Add in the sherry to the pan and stir to combine. Add in the worcestershire, thyme, and broth. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes until it is a thick sauce and not watery.
- Allow the onions to cool for 10 minutes. When the dough has rested about 2 hours and is nicely fluffy, top with the cooled onions. Then top with the cheese.
- Bake on the floor of the oven, on a baking steel or stone if you have one.
- Bake about 20 minutes until melted on top and crispy on the edges.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before popping it out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board.
- Cut and serve!