Detroit Style Pizza

This Detroit Style Pizza recipe has a thick, delicious yeasted crust. It’s topped with the perfect amount of sauce, melty cheesy and a blanket of pepperoni cups. And while most recipes require a 24-hour ferment, this recipe takes a fraction of the time!

What Is Detroit Style Pizza

Each week I’ve been trying to incorporate a fun, new-to-us meal into our routine. Staying at home more means that often times meals can feel monotonous or a bit boring; that’s why pizza night can be a time to have fun and get a little wild!

Enter: this Detroit-Style Pizza recipe. I fell in love with this type of pizza a few years ago when I visited Detroit and New York. It’s so delicious. In New York, you might be familiar with Prince Street Pizza (truly fantastic). In Detroit, there is the famous and delicious Jet’s Pizza. Here’s what makes up Detroit Style Pizza:

• The iconic thick crust that is thick, chewy and very light. I love absolutely LOVE IT!
• Rectangular and/or square shape. This is usually made in a thin and dark square pan. This shape is very different to the very typical round-shaped pizza.
• I believe that Detroit Style Pizza is inspired by Sicilian pizza and Chicago pizza. It’s a bit of a cross between the two, I would say.

Detroit Style Pizza Pan

A lot of recipes will call for a custom Detroit Style Pizza Pan and if you’d like to buy one, you definitely can. But I find single-purpose pans annoying and fussy. I like to use a 9×13-inch baking pan. Yes, the same one I use to make sheet cakes and brownies.

I like to use a darker 9×13-inch pan because this gets hotter much quicker. And it really contributes to a crispy, delicious crust. The link above for the Detroit Style Pizza Pan is very thin and conducts heat rapidly–which definitely contributes to a delicious pizza.

Get Creative With Toppings

While I topped this pizza with pepperoni cups, cubed aged provolone and mozzarella, I say get creative. Here are some other toppings that I think would be fantastic:

• Banana Peppers
• Pepperoncini with pepperoni
• Veggie (I’m talking sliced mushrooms, red bell peppers, red onion and kale)
• You could also go with jalapeños and pepperoni.
• Meat Lovers (crumbled sausage, pepperoni and bacon)

How to Make Detroit Style Pizza

1. In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, kosher salt and instant yeast.
2. Then pour in the warm water (100 degrees F) and olive oil. Mix it together until combined.
3. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a 9×13-inch baking pan and spread it around. Add the dough to the center.
4. Using your fingers, press dimples into the dough. We’re going to allow the crust to relax and then slowly push it into toward the corners. Set your timer for 15 minutes and cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. This should be rising in a warm place in your home. Not drafty!
5. At the 15-minute mark, return back to the dough, and press it using your fingers, working it closer to the edge of the pan but not all the way. Set your timer again for 15 minutes and cover it once more.
6.  At the 15 minute mark, return back to the dough, and press it, using our fingers, until the dough reaches the edges and the corners.
7. Cover it and allow to rise for 1 full hour. At the 1-hour mark, spread the sauce on top in one even, thin layer. Top it with the two cheeses and place a blanket of pepperoni cups. Pepperoni cups will shrivel up and shrink so it’s important to put a good amount.
8. Transfer to the oven to bake for 7 minutes, rotate it at the 7-minute mark to ensure even baking and then bake for an additional 7 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then slide it onto a large cutting board.

Tips and Tricks

• If your fingers are sticking to the dough, you can just lightly grease them with some olive oil and it’ll be stick-free!
• A lot of Detroit-Style Pizzas are made in a special pan. I didn’t buy a special pan but I do think that a dark-colored 9×13-inch baking pan works better than a lighter colored.
• Be sure you’re rising the dough in a warm place in your oven. As we get into cooler months, you want to make sure you’re rising the dough in a non-drafty part of your home.
• You really want to put the cheese and sauce all the way to the edge of the pan. This cheese, gets baked onto the crust, resulting in the BEST tasting crust edges.
• I used cubed aged provolone that I found at my local Italian market, but if you can’t find, no worries, just replace it with more mozzarella.

If you make this recipe, let me know on Instagram! 

Video: How to Make Detroit-Style Pizza

Looking for more recipes? Here are a few that I love:

• More Pizza Recipes
• Tiramisu
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Lamb Bolognese
• Caesar Salad

4.70 from 69 votes

Print Recipe

Detroit Style Pizza

Author: Adrianna Adarme

This Detroit-Style Pepperoni Pizza has a thick, delicious yeasted crust.It’s topped with the perfect amount of sauce, melty cheesy and a blanket ofpepperoni cups. And while most recipes require a 24-hour ferment, this recipetakes a fraction of the time! 

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Prep Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Rise Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

• ▢ Olive oil (for pan, dough and stretching)
• ▢ 2 1/4 (270 grams) cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• ▢ 3/4 (6 ounces) cups warm water

Topping:

• ▢ 3 ounces aged provolone cubed
• ▢ 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
• ▢ 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• ▢ 5 ounces pepperoni cups

Instructions

To Make the Pizza Dough:

• Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch baking pan. The darker the aluminum, the better. This will give you a better crust.
• In a bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, salt and instant yeast.
  
• Pour in the warm water and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix again. The dough will be pretty wet and that’s ok!
  
• This is a different type of pizza dough; it will be kinda wet so don't sweat that too much. Just knead it up or mix it up until it becomes cohesive.
  
• Dip your fingers into the olive oil from the pan and transfer the dough to the greased baking pan. Dimple the dough using your fingers. We’re going to do this every 15 minutes until it reaches the edges. We have to stretch the dough slowly to ensure zero ripping of the dough. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in draft-free place in your kitchen/house and set a timer for 15 minutes.
  
• Return to the dough and remove the plastic wrap/towel and dimple the dough once more, spreading it close to the edges of the pan–it should be about half way to the edges by now. Cover once more and set another timer for 15 minutes.
  
• Return to the dough and dimple and stretch the dough, using extra olive oil on your hands as needed, until it reaches the edges and corners of the pan. Cover the pan and set a timer for 1 hour. This is the last rise required!
  

To Assemble and Bake the Pizza:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• Uncover the dough and spread the pizza sauce on top of the pizza dough, smoothing it out until it reaches the edges. This pizza doesn’t really have a crust exterior so be sure to take it to the edges too.
  
• Top it with the cubed provolone (if using) and sprinkle with mozzarella. I like to add some cubes of the aged provolone close to the edge of the pan so it gets all crispy.
  
• Add the pepperoni cups on top and be sure to place them overlapping and very close together. It should look like a blanket of pepperoni.
  
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees. And then bake for an additional 7 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is all melty and bubbling.
  
• Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a large cutting board. Slice it up with a sharp knife and serve!

Notes

Tips and Tricks 

• Dough Sticky? – If your fingers are sticking to the dough, you can just lightly grease them with some olive oil and it’ll be stick-free! 
• Special Pan – A lot of Detroit-Style Pizzas are made in a special pan. I didn’t buy a special pan but I do think that a dark-colored 9×13-inch baking pan works better than a lighter colored. I linked to a dark 9×13-inch pan. Glass baking dishes *WILL NOT* work for this recipe. They don’t conduct enough heat fast enough and hot enough to cook the crust properly. 
• Cheese! – You really want to put the cheese and sauce all the way to the edge of the pan. This cheese, gets baked onto the crust, resulting in the BEST tasting crust edges. 
• I used cubed aged provolone that I found at my local Italian market, but if you can’t find, no worries, just replace it with more mozzarella. 
• Pepperoni – For pepperoni cups, you want pepperoni that’s sliced on the thicker side. My friend Billy suggests the pepperoni from the 365 Whole Foods Brand. For this recipe, I used the Hormel Pepperoni Cups. I found them at my local grocery store. I thought they were wonderful.
• Pizza Sauce – For the pizza sauce, I used the Rao’s Brand pizza sauce and it was delicious! 

Equipment: 

Dark 9×13-inch baking pan | Stainless-Steel Bowls |  Box Cheese Grater | Measuring Cups | Measuring Spoons | Cutting Boards | 

Nutrition

Serving: 8g | Calories: 340kcal (17%) | Carbohydrates: 30g (10%) | Protein: 12g (24%) | Fat: 12g (18%) | Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) | Cholesterol: 22mg (7%) | Sodium: 290mg (13%) | Potassium: 3mg | Fiber: 4g (17%) | Sugar: 2g (2%) | Vitamin A: 34IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 12mg (1%) | Iron: 264mg (1467%)

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