3 hours ago, Matthew.Taylor said:That looks a whole lot like the pizza there! Judging by what pizza sauce they serve with their breadsticks, I believe the sauce is tomato paste based, so that’s something I know. I found a recipe for a focaccia type pizza dough, and I’ve heard Adriatico’s referred to that for awhile. It may be awhile before I can test it (I work a lot of overtime, and come home late a lot), but these are all good ideas. Thanks very much!
Adriatico's is not a focaccia type of dough. It's going to have much less water than a focaccia- and there's a really good chance that it will use stronger flour as well. Also, while there's nothing wrong with Grandma or Detroit style pizza, Adriatico's isn't Grandma or Detroit either.
It is a little Prince Street Pizza-ish, which is what Kenji was trying to replicate in the Serious Eats recipe posted above. Had Kenji actually succeeded in making his clone, that might have been a good jumping off point for you, but, unfortunately, Kenji being Kenji, he misses the mark entirely.
I've been doing a little more digging. In Adriatico's FAQ, it says that pizzas take "20-30 minutes to prepare and cook on average." That doesn't give us an exact bake time, but it helps.
I'm beginning to get a sense of where to start with an Adriatico's clone, but, I'd rather not guess at things (like flour) that you might be able to figure out with a trip there. One other important piece of reconnaissance you can do would be to buy a dough ball. Most pizzerias will sell dough, on it's own. Hopefully, they do as well.
Everything hinges on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. If you really love Adriatico's and want to invest time and energy recreating it at home, I can help you get there. But if you just want to be able to make a good square slice, without getting into too much complexity, then I think Detroit might be the way to go. It won't have Adriatico's crunchy exterior, but it will still be pretty good. Another option might be an existing Prince Street clone- created by someone that actually knows how to make pizza. But that might get a bit more involved than Detroit.
It all depends on how serious you are about recreating Adriatico's and how much time you're able to put into it.
