Being Italian and having lived in Chicago for over 35 years, I know a thing or two about what makes a really good pizza. And I’ve made my fair share of them over the years. My take on Chicago’s famous upside down pizza and my Gram’s sheet pan pizza especially come to mind. But it wasn’t until recently that I even gave Detroit style pizza a second glance.

You see…I lived in Toledo, Ohio for many years and never once thought or even heard of Detroit-style pizza despite it only being an hour away. And we went north a lot. Clearly I was a distracted, self-involved high schooler. And clearly, I had to make things right.

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The great Detroit-style pizza experiment

Living in Chicago, our Detroit pizza options are limited. There is no Detroit famous Buddy’s here. Frozen was my first experience via Motor City Pizza Co. from Costco and to be honest, it was good! Inspired, I set out to study, read and recipe test.

I had several sources I researched including Serious Eats, King Arthur’s Baking and Pizza Today along with my friend, Alexandra Stafford from Alexandra Cooks who is an expert bread maker and chef. (pssst…she has an amazing new book, Pizza Night, launching Spring 2024, that I ordered…cannot wait!)

Below is my journey to make Detroit-style pepperoni pan pizza at home.

Components of a Detroit-style pan pizza

I’m going to run down the components and ingredients of this Detroit pepperoni pan pizza in order of how they’re used and assembled. It’s definitely different than a traditional Chicago style thin cut pizza.

Below spells out makes a Detroit-style pizza unique.

The Pan

The hallmark of a Detroit pizza is its rectangular shape and charred, caramelized edges of sauce and cheese, neither of which could happen without a very unique, special pizza pan. A Detroit pizza pan is made of dark steel and has exaggerated angled sides that allow the cheese to sneak down and broil to golden crunchy perfection.

The Detroit pizza pan I use is by Lloyd’s and they make either a small 8″ wide by 10″ long or the one I used which is a 10″ wide by 14″ long. A bigger pan produces more crispy edges.

The Dough

The key to Detroit pizza dough is hydration and rising time. After experimenting with lower and higher hydration levels, I settled on a 72% hydration of the dough and at minimum, an 8 hour rising time. A longer rising time creates to a more fermented, tangier flavor.

You could try your favorite store bought dough. Just make sure reaches room temperature so that’s it’s soft making it pliable and easy to work with.

The Cheese

This is the most unique ingredient of all. Shredded brick cheese is the hallmark of Detroit pizza setting it apart from other famous pizza styles like New York.

Brick cheese has a creamy melt and creates a great cheese pull while adding a sweet tangy flavor. I order brick cheese from the deli counter in a large block and grate it by hand. If you can’t find it, a combination of mozzarella and a little havarti or Italian fontina would work well too.

The Sauce

It’s not so much what’s in the sauce as to when and how the sauce is applied to the pizza.

After copious amounts of shredded brick cheese are sprinkled over the pizza dough, you drizzle on spoonfuls of the zesty pizza sauce. I do a diagonal striping of sauce making sure to kiss the edges of the pan. You can also do plops of sauce haphazardly across the pie.

Cupped pepperoni

The key to getting cupped pepperoni is buying the right kind of pepperoni. You’re not going to buy the package of pepperoni you usually buy when making pizza. Instead, go to the deli section of your grocer and look for natural casing pepperoni. Boar’s Head makes a stick of it and Hormel has just released pre-sliced cupped pepperoni. I went the Boar’s Head route as the Hormel ones weren’t available near me.

Step by step instructions

After 3 different rounds of dough testing with various hydration levels and adjusting yeast, salt and rising times, below is the ultimate dough recipe for Detroit pan pizza. It’s fluffy and crispy thanks to a layer of olive oil and butter at the bottom of the pan.

And it’s topped with a gooey, layer of hand grated brick cheese and a thick layer of cupped, charred pepperoni.

Let’s get to making the best pan pizza.

Make the dough

Two options:

By hand. This is a really wet dough but it will come together.

• In a large bowl, mix flour with instant yeast and water. Stir to incorporate and allow the blend to rest for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, mix in the instant yeast and sugar. Once mixed, sprinkle in the salt separately to avoid killing the yeast.
• Turn out onto a floured counter and knead until combined, about 5 minutes. Add more flour as needed.

With stand mixer or food processor. With the stand mixer, use first the paddle and then the dough hook to knead. For the food processor, use the dough blade.

• Follow all the steps above when it comes to kneading.
• Knead until the dough comes together and makes a beautiful smooth ball.

For both methods. Place into a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and then a dish towel and set on the counter to rise for a minimum of 8 -24 hours.

Assembling the pizza

The order is:

• dough
• cheese
• sauce
• toppings

1. Generously smear 2 T butter on the bottom of the pan and then pour on about 2 T of olive oil. Spread the dough on top and allow to rise for another hour. Cover with the clean dish towel.
2. Parbake the crust at 475˚ for 5 minutes.
   

1. Add sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes. Add seasoning and simmer for 15 minutes on medium-ow until thickened. Cool.
2. Sprinkle grated cheese over the crust. Tuck some between the sides of the pan and the crust.
3. Use a large spoon to drizzle sauce over the cheese. You don’t want to cover the cheese completely.

1. Layer on the pepperoni making sure that every piece has ample spicy bites.
2. Bake in a preheated 500˚ oven until the pepperoni is charred and the edges are golden.

Cutting and serving

Rectangular pan pizza is best cut down the middle and then crosswise into long strips. That way, everyone gets a piece with crispy edges.

Storage, reheating and freezing

Storage. My favorite method for storing cooled, leftover pizza is to layer it between parchment paper and then wrapping in plastic wrap. Store the whole packet in a resealable storage bag and place in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheating. Heat leftover pizza on a sheet pan in a preheated 350˚ oven until heated and bubbling.

Freeze. Wrap leftover cooked pizza as described in storage above and freeze for up to 3 months. You can reheat from frozen in a 425˚ oven until crispy.