A German Inspired Detroit Style Pizza

BORA invited me to cook in their Flagship store in Germany and challenged me to make pizza my way! Because I was in Germany, I wanted to make a lovely German inspired pizza bite. For me Detroit style pizza was the perfect base and for the toppings I made some sauerkraut, confit potatoes and black truffle.

The Detroit style pizza dough

We’ll start with the poolish preferment.

40 grams	flour
0.2 grams	dry yeast
40 grams	ice cold water

Mix the flour with the dry yeast and while stirring add the ice cold water till it’s an even batter. Now cover it with some wrap and let it proof for 12 hours at room temperature. This will develop an amazing flavor. Then the dough.

450 grams	flour
50 grams	semolina flour
2 grams	dry yeast
280 grams	ice cold water
	the poolish preferment
15 grams	water
12 grams	salt
25 grams	olive oil
50 grams	water

Mix the flour with the semolina flour and the dry yeast. Now slowly mix this for 2 minutes. Then while mixing or kneading at the 280 grams of ice cold water. Mix this on the lowest speed for 4 minutes. Once the dough comes together add the poolish preferment. Now also add the 15 grams of water, the salt and the olive oil. Then turn up the speed and add the 50 grams of water. Mix it for another minute till it’s an even and elastic dough. Now transfer the dough on your worktop and use a dough scraper to shape the dough into a big ball. Start at the bottom and move it from the side to the top while pressing it down. When it’s a nice ball transfer it into a bowl. Then wrap the bowl and let it rest for 24 hours in your fridge.

The next day you can take the dough out of the fridge and transfer it onto your worktop. Now divide the dough into 6 pieces of 300 grams. Once that’s done again shape the dough into balls with a dough scraper. Place them on a tray that has a drizzle of olive oil and cover the tray with some wrap. Again, let this rest for 24 hours in your fridge.

The sauerkraut

2	onions
100 grams	bacon
60 grams	goose fat
200 grams	rinsed sauerkraut
100 grams	Riesling wine
100 grams	vegetable broth
2	bay leaves
2 sprigs	thyme
10	black pepper corns

Cut the onions in half and clean them. Now slice them in thin slices. Then cut the bacon in even cubes. Now pour the goose fat into a pan together with the bacon we just cut. Pan fry this on a medium heat till the bacon has a lovely golden brown color. Once that’s done turn down the heat and add the sliced onion. Glaze this till the onion has softened. Then add the rinsed sauerkraut and glaze it for another 2 minutes. Now add the white Riesling wine, the vegetable broth, the bay leaves, the thyme and the black pepper corns. Then cover the pan with a lid and cook the sauerkraut in an oven at 140 degrees Celsius for 90 minutes. Once it’s cooked take it out of the oven, but beware that the handle and lid are still very hot. Then remove the spices and herbs. Give it a final mix and taste for seasoning. Now keep it in your fridge for later.

The confit potato slices

300 grams	goose fat
0.5 bulb	garlic
2 sprigs	thyme
2	bay leaves
20	black pepper corns
3 big	waxy potatoes

Pour the goose fat into a pan and cut the garlic in half. Add the garlic to the pan together with the thyme, the bay leaves and the black peppercorns. Now bring this to a simmer on a medium low heat and let the herbs and spices infuse for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile slices the waxy potatoes on a sharp mandolin. The slices need to be around 3 to 4 millimeters. Stack those slices and cut them with a round cutter.

Once the goose fat is done remove the herbs and spices and place the potato rounds in the fat. Let the potato confit on a low simmer till it’s almost cooked, but still has a little snap. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Now take them out of the fat and keep them in your fridge for later.

Final prep

You just need to season some crème fraiche with some salt. Don’t over season it, you only need a pinch of salt. Give it a good mix and then keep it in your fridge for later.

How to finish the pizza bite

First cover the inside of a baking tin with some olive oil. Then take the pizza dough out of the fridge and place a ball of dough in each baking tin. Now press the dough into the corners, but beware not to break the dough, so after pressing it down let it rest for 20 minutes. Then continue this pressing and resting process till the dough is evenly divided. You probably need to do this 3 or 4 times. Now cover the tin with a damp cloth or wrap and let it proof till it’s doubled in size.

After that bake the pizza dough at 230 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes. Then take the tin out of the oven and cover the top with a layer of the seasoned crème fraiche. Now also add a layer of the sauerkraut. Then place the potato rounds on there and make sure they slightly overlap each other. As a final step we grate some nice cheese on top and then bake it again at 230 degrees Celsius till golden on top. This takes around 5 to 6 minutes. Then let it cool down in the tin before gently taking it out and portioning it to the desired size. You can serve them straight from the oven as well, but otherwise keep them portioned and just heat them up at 200 degrees Celsius for a minute. For the garnish we chopped some chives and slices some black truffle on a mandoline. Sprinkle the chives on top, place the bites on a plate or napkin and gently cover the top with the black truffle. As a final touch I added some winter purslane leaves.