Detroit-Style Pizza

📍 Detroit, Michigan

Thick, airy, and crispy-edged with a caramelized cheese crust that forms where Wisconsin brick cheese meets the blue steel pan — Detroit-style pizza is the Midwest's answer to every other regional pizza, and it might just be the best one.

At a Glance

Ingredients

The Dough

• 2¾ cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup warm water (105–110°F)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the pan

The Toppings

• 8 ounces Wisconsin brick cheese, cubed into ½-inch pieces (or a 50/50 mix of low-moisture mozzarella and Monterey Jack)
• 4 ounces pepperoni (optional but classic)
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

The Red Stripe Sauce

• 1 can (14 ounces) crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the warm water and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead (by hand or stand mixer with dough hook) for 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic.

2. First rise. Oil a large bowl, place the dough inside, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 1½–2 hours until doubled. (For better flavor, refrigerate overnight for a cold rise of 12–14 hours; bring to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.)

3. Prepare the pan. Generously oil a 10x14-inch blue steel Detroit-style pan (or a heavy 9x13-inch baking pan). Transfer the dough to the pan and use your fingers to gently press and stretch it toward the edges. If it springs back, let it rest 10 minutes and try again. The dough should reach all four corners.

4. Second rise. Cover the pan and let the dough rise for 30–45 minutes until puffy.

5. Make the sauce. While the dough rises, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. (The sauce goes on TOP of the cheese, in characteristic "racing stripes.")

6. Top the pizza. Preheat oven to 550°F (or as high as it goes). Distribute the cubed cheese evenly over the dough, making sure to push cheese cubes all the way to the edges and into the corners — this creates the signature caramelized cheese crust (the "frico"). Layer pepperoni over the cheese if using.

7. Bake. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the top is deeply golden, the cheese at the edges is dark and crispy, and the bottom is golden brown (lift a corner with a spatula to check).

8. Add the sauce stripes. Remove from the oven. Spoon the sauce in two or three thick stripes across the top of the pizza — this is the "red stripe" that's characteristic of Detroit style. The sauce goes on AFTER baking.

9. Rest and serve. Let the pizza rest in the pan for 3 minutes, then run a thin spatula around the edges to release it. Slide it out onto a cutting board and cut into squares. Top with fresh basil if desired.

Tips & Variations

• The Pan Matters: A real Detroit-style blue steel pan gives the best crust. Lloyd Pans makes the gold standard. A well-oiled dark metal 9x13 works as a substitute.
• Brick Cheese: Wisconsin brick cheese is the authentic choice — it melts beautifully and creates that incredible caramelized edge. If you can't find it, a mix of low-moisture mozzarella and Monterey Jack gets close.
• Cheese to the Edges: The most important step. Push cheese all the way into the corners where it meets the pan. The cheese melts against the hot metal and creates the crispy, lacy "frico" crust.
• Supreme Version: Add cooked sausage, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms under the cheese.
• Reheat Method: Reheat in a skillet over medium heat with a lid on — it re-crisps the bottom perfectly.

🌾 Did You Know?

Detroit-style pizza was born in 1946 at Buddy's Rendezvous (now Buddy's Pizza), when owner Gus Guerra began baking pizza in blue steel utility pans borrowed from the auto industry — the same pans used to hold small parts on the assembly line at Detroit's car factories. The thick, airy, focaccia-like dough, the cheese pushed to the edges, and the sauce applied in "racing stripes" on top became Detroit's signature. For decades, Detroit-style pizza was a local secret, virtually unknown outside Michigan. That changed dramatically in the 2010s when the style exploded nationally, with pizzerias from Portland to Brooklyn putting Detroit-style pies on their menus. Detroiters, who'd been quietly enjoying the best pizza in the Midwest for 75 years, finally felt vindicated.

📸 Photography note: A whole Detroit-style pizza in a dark blue steel pan, cut into squares. The red sauce stripes visible on top, the caramelized cheese crust edges dark and crispy. One square being pulled away showing the airy dough and cheese pull. Shot from slightly above on a bar counter. Industrial-meets-comfort aesthetic.