Detroit-Style Vegan Pizza

Add flour, yeast, and 1/2 tbsp. salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or dough hook, and mix on “stir” setting until combined. Separately, mix water with 1 tsp. maple syrup, then add to the stand mixer. Continue to stir on the lowest speed until the ingredients are just combined, forming a rough ball. If using a paddle attachment, switch to the dough hook. Add in 1/2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil and stir a minute longer until mixed well. Then turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, generously coat a 10x14-inch Detroit-style pizza pan with extra virgin olive oil. You can use a brush or paper towel to spread it evenly around the pan.

Turn your stand mixer to the 2nd or 3rd setting (low or medium-low) and allow it to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Remove the dough, shape it into a rough ball, and place it in the center of your oiled pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it’s doubled in size (about two hours). You may wish to put some oil on the plastic wrap so it doesn’t stick to the dough as it rises.

While the dough is rising, make the sauce. Add whole tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tbsp. maple syrup, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper to a blender and blend on low speed until large pieces are broken up. Then turn to liquefy setting (or high speed) and blend until smooth.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add minced garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, and red pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add your tomato mix from the blender to the saucepan and mix well. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and reduced to about 2 cups. (As each stove is different, adjust the heat level as needed; if it’s boiling quickly, reduce the heat.)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan with the dough in it, then use some extra-virgin olive oil to coat your fingers. With oiled fingers, stretch the dough out to the edges of the pan, being careful not to tear the dough, and keeping the dough as even as possible. Try to avoid creating a thicker crust at the edges. You may need to stretch the dough a little beyond the edge of the pan so that when it pulls back it reaches the edge of the pan. However, if the dough won’t stretch without tearing, let it rest for 10 minutes, covered, and try again. Once the dough has been stretched, cover it with plastic wrap again and let it rise another 20 minutes.

While the dough is rising for the second time, toss your Miyoko’s Mozz in the freezer to harden up a bit. Once the dough is ready, remove the plastic wrap and grate the cheese directly over the pizza dough, using the large holes on a box grater. Try to distribute the cheese evenly over the pizza, and make sure the edges have plenty of cheese as well. The cheese should melt and brown against the sides of the pan to create a crispy pizza edge. Feel free to redistribute the cheese by hand if it didn’t land evenly with the grater.

Spread about 1 cup of sauce on top of the vegan mozzarella (set the rest aside for another pizza). Some people like to spoon the sauce out in thick lines, creating some areas with sauce and some without. You can also spread the sauce evenly if you prefer.

Bake your pizza at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-14 minutes.

Carefully scrape the sides of the pizza so that none is clinging to the pan. Put one spatula under each end of the pizza, and lift the pizza out of the pan and onto a large cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the pizza into 12 slices (3 x 4), or as desired. Top with basil, red pepper flakes, and/or vegan parmesan to serve.