RECIPE: Carnival Squash and Honey Ricotta Mini Detroit
This personal-sized Detroit pizza hits all the Fall season notes, including roasted squash, pecans, and sage. The addition of whipped honey ricotta and pecans really takes this into comfort-food territory while pairing wonderfully with the nutty and sweet squash. Of course, as with most Detroit pizzas, you'll also get a fair share of gooey cheese goodness.
Equipment
6”x6” Detroit Style Pan. I used a Lloyd's Pan, often considered one of the best out there for commercial or home use.
Ingredients:
Dough (makes four doughballs. Use one ball per 6x6 Detroit pan)
- 350 g Bread Flour
255 g Water (warmed to 90°F)
10 g Kosher Salt
3.5 g Instant Dried Yeast
Toppings
1 Carnival Squash (sub with Acorn or Butternut)
3 oz Whole Milk Low Moisture Mozzarella (freshly shredded, or if you use bagged just make sure to rinse the starch off first). 75% of your total cheese.
1 oz Monterey Jack or white cheddar, 25% of your total cheese.
2 oz Whole Milk Ricotta
1 tbsp Honey (Plus extra for drizzling)
5 Pecans, chopped
1 tbsp Fresh Herbs (Preferably Sage, Rosemary, and/or Thyme), chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
Instructions
Make the dough.
- Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Stir to combine.
- Heat water in a microwavable safe bowl for 30 seconds. The temperature should be between 85F and 95F. Add yeast to water and let sit for 5 minutes. We're not looking for full activation, just a bit of a jumpstart.
- Slowly add the water/yeast mixture to the stand mixer, mixing on low until it forms a smooth consistency, about 10 minutes. Note: dough will be very wet and sticky, and the bottom will stick to the bowl. You may need to scrape the bottom up with a spatula.
- Turn the mixer off. Scrape the dough out onto the counter. With wet or lightly oiled hands to reduce sticking, continue kneading for 3 minutes to build the gluten. Flip the mixer bowl over the dough to keep it moist, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Grease your 6×6 pans with a stick of butter or olive oil.
- After 30 minutes, divide the dough into 4 equal 145-150g balls. Knead them back into a ball and place them into the greased pans. Cover, and let rest for an hour at room temperature.
Stretch and cold ferment.
- Gently stretch the dough to fit the edges of the pan. The dough will shrink up a bit, which is fine at this stage.
- Cover again and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days to cold ferment.
- On bake day, let the dough come to room temperature on the counter for 3-6 hours. If you do a longer 6-hour ferment, gently press the dough down with your fingers halfway through. This prevents bubbles from expelling air and gives a better final crumb.
- Prep Ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 425f. Slice the squash width-wise into 1/2" slices. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt to taste, and roast the squash for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Add the ricotta, honey, and half of the fresh herbs in a medium bowl. Whip the ricotta for 2 minutes, salt to taste, and place in the refrigerator.
Par bake.
- Preheat the oven to 550°F with a pizza steel/stone. If using an outdoor pizza oven, preheat until 700-750 degrees, about 20 minutes.
- Place the pan onto the pizza stone and bake for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Remove the dough from the pan and place it onto a wire rack, allowing it to cool briefly for about 5 minutes.
Toppings, in order; then bake.
- Put the dough back into the pan and add the shredded mozzarella, ensuring most of it touches the edge of the pan. Then add the Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through and covering it with tinfoil if it begins to brown too quickly.
- Remove from the oven and use a thin metal spatula along the edges to separate the pizza from the pan. Slide onto a wire rack to rest for 3 minutes. Top with the honey ricotta, followed by slices of roasted squash. Add chopped pecans and any additional fresh herbs. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and additional honey.
- Slice, and enjoy.