Detroit Style Pizza Recipe

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Detroit-Style Pizza Recipe is a rectangular, notably thick and airy deep-dish pizza with a caramelized crust and a focaccia-like chewiness and softness. It’s loaded with toasty cheese, savory pepperoni, and tangy tomato sauce with a touch of sweetness. It doesn’t matter if you’re nowhere near Detroit—with my step-by-step instructions, you’ll whip up this mouthwatering recipe with ease.

I adore pizza, especially the crispy, toasted bits. Clever twists like layering the cheese right over the crust and under the tomato sauce to ensure crispiness, and baking the pizza in a rectangular steel pan so that the cheese and pepperoni come in contact with the hot sides and get caramelized make Detroit-Style pizza a tempting upgrade from regular flat-crust style pizza!

Table of Contents

• What is Detroit Style Pizza?
• Tools You’ll Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Detroit Style Pizza
• Can I Make Detroit Style Pizza in Advance?
• How to Store Detroit-Style Pizza
• FAQs
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• More Pizza Recipes

What is Detroit-Style Pizza?

• Detroit-Style is a unique version of pizza that originated in 1946 when Detroit, Michigan bar owner Gus Guerra used his Sicilian mother-in-law’s recipe.
• Legend has it that the first pizzas were baked in heavy-steel, rectangular pans that were originally used as trays for parts in a Detroit auto factory.
• The oiled steel pan gives Detroit-Style pizza its signature crunchy, cheesy, crust with a tender interior. The corner slices are everyone’s favorite!

Tools You’ll Need

• Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment
• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• Cling film or shower cap
• Detroit-style blue steel pan or 9×9-inch (23×23 cm)square cake pan  or 10-inch round (25 ½ cm) cake pan
• Cutting board

Key Ingredients and Why

For the Dough

• Bread flour
  • Bread flour has a protein content of 12%-14% to yield a more elastic dough with a satisfying chewier bite.
  • Moreover, bread flour also contributes to a deep sturdy structure to hold more various toppings.
• Salt
  • Salt adds flavor to the dough.
  • It strengthens the gluten structure to make the dough more elastic, which makes it able to hold on to more water.
• Instant yeast
  • Instant yeast can be put directly into the dry ingredients. Avoid direct contact with salt by mixing it with flour first so it won’t get deactivated.
  • If you use active dry yeast, use double the amount for instant yeast.
• Olive oil
  • Detroit-Style pizza is baked in a well-oiled pan to create its dark-edged crispy crusty and caramelized cheese edges.
  • The olive oil helps prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.
  • Olive oil not only enhances the flavor but also tenderizes the dough.

For the Topping

• Diced Monterey Jack cheese and diced mozzarella cheese
  • Traditionally Detroit-style pizza makers use Wisconsin brick cheese. We use a mixture of mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheese which is a close substitute and more easily found. You can find brick cheese online if you would like to try the real deal.
  • Diced cheese makes a thicker layer that makes a barrier between the crust and sauce, keeping the crust from getting soggy.
  • Scatter the cheese all the way to the edges of the pan for a crispy cheese crust around the pizza.
  • Really take it up a notch by using my easy recipe, How to Make Homemade Mozzarella.
• Five-Minute Pizza Sauce

Ladle this thick, rich sauce made from crushed tomatoes on top of the cheese.

• Sliced pepperoni
  • Lay the pepperoni on top to ensure it gets crispy. Scatter the pepperoni all the way to the sides of the pan. The pepperoni will infuse the rest of the pizza with its salty flavor as it cooks.

How to Make Detroit-Style Pizza

Make the Dough

• In a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the bread flour, instant yeast, and salt, and then add the water gradually until the dough forms a ball.
• Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and proof for about 2 hours.
• Then transfer the dough to an oiled pan. Stretch to the edges, cover, and proof for about 30 minutes.
• Each time proof the dough until it doubles in size.

Add the Toppings

• Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C).
• Stretch the dough beyond the edges of the pan so it won’t shrink while cooking.
• Sprinkle the diced cheese all the way to the edges of the pan.
• Top with spoonfuls of 5 Minute Pizza Sauce, and lay the pepperoni over, spreading it to the edges.
• Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are dark and the cheese turns golden brown.
• Cut into squares and serve.

Can I Make a Detroit-Style Pizza Recipe in Advance?

• You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator.
• Alternatively, you can freeze the dough for up to four weeks. Defrost at room temperature and then bake off per the recipe.

How to Store Detroit-Style Pizza

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• Reheat in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10 minutes.

FAQs

• Can I substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour?

  • You can substitute all-purpose flour (AP) for bread flour (BF). AP has around 11% protein, less than around 13% in bread flour, which means AP absorbs less water and creates less gluten strand structure with less open crumb so it doesn’t hold as much air as bread flour does. The result won’t be so stretchy, chewy, or elastic.
  • A good rule of thumb to keep in mind while alternating the recipe: hold back some liquid by using up to three-quarters of the amount called for at first, and then adjust it accordingly to get the same consistency as the recipe.

• What’s the difference between Detroit-Style Pizza and Chicago-Style Pizza?

  • Detroit-Style Pizza has a thick crispy crust similar to focaccia. It’s baked in an oiled, rectangular pan.
    • The diced cheese goes directly on top of the crust to form a layer to keep the crust crispy. The sauce goes on top of the cheese, followed by pepperoni.
    • The toppings go all the way to the edges of the pan so they get caramelized and crispy.
  • Chicago-Style pizza is baked in a deep, round pan and has a tender, buttery crust. It’s almost casserole-like and is packed with fillings like sausage, peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• You can knead the dough by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer: first mix the flour, salt, yeast, and water together with a wooden spoon. Let rest for 10 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 15 minutes, adding water as necessary to create a smooth, silky dough.
• The order of the topping is important to achieve the correct flavor and texture.
• If you don’t have a Detroit-style pizza pan you can use a 9×9-inch square (23×23 cm) or 10-inch round (25 ½ cm) cake pan.
• Although the cheese and sauce should remain the same, instead of pepperoni, you can use other pizza toppings of your choice, like Italian sausage, and sliced onions and peppers.

More Pizza Recipes

• The Best New York Pizza Outside of NY
• 15-Minute Pizza Dough Recipe
• Deep Dish Pizza
• The Simplest Sourdough Pizza Crust
• Stovetop Pizza: Making Pizza Without an Oven
• Cauliflower Pizza Crust in 5 Simple Steps

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