This Detroit style pizza recipe makes a rectangular pie with a thick, chewy crust and cheese that browns against the pan edges. You need bread flour dough, a 9×13 metal pan and an oven set between 450°F and 500°F. Plan about four hours, most of it spent rising.
What Is Detroit Style Pizza?
Detroit style pizza is a rectangular, pan-baked pizza that was first made in 1946 at Buddy’s Rendezvous in Detroit. The style is defined by its pan, its cheese and its crisp, golden edge.
According to Wikipedia’s entry on Detroit-style pizza, Gus and Anna Guerra owned Buddy’s Rendezvous when the style took shape. Early pans were blue steel automotive drip trays, and the steel pan is still the style’s defining tool.
The cheese does most of the work. Wisconsin brick cheese, often mixed with mozzarella, is spread all the way to the edges, where it caramelizes against the steel into a crisp border called frico. The sauce usually goes on last, in stripes or dollops, which gives the pizza its nickname, the red top.
The crust is thick and airy inside. The same entry describes a dough hydration of 70 percent or higher, double proofing and a crust about 1.5 inches thick, which is why the bake is longer than a thin pizza.
Knowing these traits helps you judge any detroit style pizza recipe you find online. A recipe that calls for a thin crust in a shallow pan is describing a different pizza. For another thick, pan-baked style that started in Sicily, read what Sicilian pizza is and how it differs.
Dough for a Detroit Style Pizza Recipe
A home dough for this detroit style pizza recipe usually uses about 2.5 cups of bread flour, 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of yeast and 1 teaspoon of salt, with about four hours of total rising. The table below compares three published versions side by side.
| Ingredient or step | Mashed recipe | Bigger Bolder Baking | Olive Magazine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 2.5 cups | 2.25 cups (319 g) | 350 g bread flour |
| Water | 1 cup | 0.75 cup lukewarm (170 ml) | 200 ml lukewarm |
| Yeast | 1 teaspoon active dry | 1 teaspoon instant | 7 g fast-action dried yeast |
| Salt | 1 teaspoon | 1.5 teaspoons | 1 teaspoon |
| Rise | 2 hours in a bowl, then 2 hours covered in the pan | About 2 hours, then 30 minutes rest in the pan | 1.5 to 2 hours, then 30 minutes rest in the pan |
| Pan | 9×13 inch metal baking pan | Detroit-style pan, no size given | 33×23 cm deep baking pan |
Bigger Bolder Baking kneads the dough for 8 to 10 minutes and adds 2 tablespoons of olive oil to it, while the Mashed recipe greases the pan. For flour choices, see how bread flour changes pizza dough. Expect a soft, slightly tacky dough. Resist adding extra flour, because the wetter dough is what gives the open, porous crumb the style is known for.
How to Build Detroit Style Pizza in the Pan
Build the pizza in a greased 9×13 metal pan by pressing the dough into the corners, then layering cheese to the edges and sauce on top. Every detroit style pizza recipe follows some version of the steps below.
You do not need a rolling pin for this style. Press the dough out by hand, then wait a few minutes if it springs back, so it reaches the corners without tearing. The pan does the shaping, which is why the rise in the pan matters so much.
- Oil the pan generously, including the corners, and press the risen dough out to the edges.
- Cover the pan and let the dough rise until it fills the corners. The Mashed recipe allows about 2 hours here.
- Scatter the cheese all the way to the edges so it can crisp against the steel. Use brick cheese if you can find it, or mozzarella with another melting cheese.
- Spoon or dollop the sauce over the cheese in stripes, leaving the cheese edges exposed. A simple option is homemade marinara sauce.
- Add pepperoni if you want it, laying the slices over the sauce, then bake.
Recipes do not agree on the order. Some spread crushed tomatoes before the cheese, and Bigger Bolder Baking puts the sauce on after the cheese. Wikipedia notes that the sauce often goes last, which keeps the cheese in direct contact with the pan.
How to Bake Detroit Style Pizza at Home
Bake the pizza at 450°F for about 20 minutes, or at 500°F for about 15 minutes, until the cheese at the edges is dark and crisp. The recipes differ, so judge the bake by color, not just the timer.
- 450°F for about 20 minutes, until the cheese melts and the edges crisp, in the Mashed recipe.
- 500°F for about 15 minutes, until the edges are very dark and caramelized, in the Bigger Bolder Baking recipe.
- 230°C (about 450°F, or 210°C fan) for 15 to 20 minutes, in Olive Magazine’s Detroit-style recipe, then rest 5 minutes before cutting.
The timing in any detroit style pizza recipe is a guide, so start checking at the low end of each range. Dark, almost black edges are part of the style, but cheese that is not yet bubbling in the center means the pizza needs a few more minutes. For tips on keeping a base crisp rather than soggy, see how to get crispy pizza crust.
Detroit Style Pizza in a Pizza Oven
A rectangular pan rarely suits a round pizza oven, so a standard home oven is the more reliable way to make Detroit style pizza. The detroit style pizza recipe above assumes a conventional oven and does not give pizza oven settings.
Dome ovens are built for round pies with a curved floor and a small opening. A detroit style pizza recipe baked in a 9×13 pan may not fit, and the floor may not heat the pan evenly. Check the oven maker’s manual for its maximum temperature and whether a metal pan is safe inside before you try it, and see the pizza oven temperature guide for general heat ranges.
If your oven is the only heat source you have, the safest plan is to bake the pan in a standard oven and save the pizza oven for round pizzas.
Common Mistakes With Detroit Style Pizza
The most common mistake in a detroit style pizza recipe is cutting the rise short, which leaves a dense crust that does not fill the pan. Give the dough its full rise before it goes into the oven.
- Skipping the rise in the pan, so the corners stay thin and pale.
- Using too little oil in the pan, so the cheese edge sticks instead of releasing.
- Pulling the pizza before the edges darken, which loses the frico that defines the style.
- Adding extra flour to a soft dough during kneading, which makes the crumb tight.
If you also bake round pizzas, the Neapolitan pizza dough recipe shows how different a thin, high-heat dough is from this thick pan dough. New to home pizza in general? Start with beginner guide to making pizza at home before you try this detroit style pizza recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Detroit and Neapolitan pizza?
A detroit style pizza recipe bakes in a rectangular steel pan and has a thick, chewy crust with cheese at the edges. Neapolitan pizza is round and thin, and it is baked quickly at very high heat. The two use different shapes, doughs and tools, so they are not interchangeable in a recipe.
Can I use only mozzarella?
A detroit style pizza recipe can use mozzarella, which often appears with brick cheese in the traditional version. Wisconsin brick cheese is the classic choice, and Bigger Bolder Baking uses Monterey Jack and mozzarella. A mozzarella-only pizza will melt well but may not crisp at the edges in quite the same way.
What size pan should I use?
A detroit style pizza recipe is easiest in the 9×13 inch metal baking pan used above, and Olive Magazine’s version uses a 33×23 cm pan. Use a deep pan with straight sides, because the cheese needs the walls to crisp against.
How long does a detroit style pizza recipe take?
Plan about four hours in total. The Mashed recipe uses 2 hours for the first rise and 2 hours in the pan, then about 20 minutes in the oven. Some versions use a shorter rise, so check the dough rather than the clock.
Do I need a pizza steel?
No. The pan does the work in this style, and the steel pan is the defining tool. A pizza steel is a separate method for round pizzas and is not required here.
If you own a standard oven and a 9×13 metal pan, you already have what you need for this detroit style pizza recipe. Start with the Mashed dough amounts in this detroit style pizza recipe if you want the simplest path, and make the first batch on a day when you can leave the dough to rise without rushing.