Detroit-Style Pizza

With striking red stripes of tangy tomato sauce, an airy-yet-crunchy, golden crust, and gooey cheese that gets crisp at the edges, Detroit-style pizza has understandably blown up in popularity over the past few years. Let Chicago deep dish and New York-style pizza take a break, Motor City has its own contribution to the widespread classification of American pizzas. Bonus? This is one of the easiest pizza recipes to make at home! There is no concentrated effort to make a perfectly stretched hand-tossed pizza round, no nerve-wracking transfer from the peel to the oven, and no need to shop for one of the best pizza stones. Simply pat out the incredibly soft dough and let the yeast and flour do all the work!

What is Detroit-style pizza?

The pan: One of the most iconic traits of the Detroit-style pizza has nothing to do with its unconventional toppings (more on those later). It is actually the pan it is baked in. The original baking vessel was an industrial oil pan that auto workers used at the numerous factories in Motor City. Today, the dark aluminum pans are made especially for the pizza in two different sizes: 10 by 8 inches and 14 by 10 inches. This recipe was made with a 14-by-10-inch pan; it also works with a dark, nonstick 13-by-9-inch cake pan.

The crust: A simple, barely kneaded, wet dough makes this pizza super easy to make at home. It can even be mixed up by hand instead of a stand mixer; simply add 2 minutes to the mixing time. It is enriched with lots of olive oil, ensuring crispy edges and an airy, buttery interior. 

The cheese: This Michigan-style pizza uses Wisconsin brick cheese, a high-fat, semi-soft cheese that gives the pizza its buttery flavor. Because it's one of those types of cheese that's hard to find in stores outside of the local area, a combination of mild low-moisture mozzarella and slightly sharper monterey jack cheese makes a delightfully stretchy, chewy, and stress-free substitute.

The sauce: The sauce itself is a simple sauce that is whisked together while the dough proofs. A clean-tasting combination of garlic, oil, spices, and tomato, this sauce seasons the pizza without overpowering the other ingredients. It is also layered in stark stripes on top of the cheese to protect the dough from getting soggy. The results are absolutely gorgeous.

What is the difference between Detroit-style pan pizza and Chicago deep-dish pizza?

Often in conversations about the widespread differences between numerous American-style pizzas, each city (and furthermore, each pizza shop) loudly proclaims that theirs is superior. Leave this conversation to the dinner table. For now, focus on what makes each of these pizzas unique, special, and delicious. While both hailing from the midwest, these filling, deep-dish-style pizzas are incredibly different. Chicago-style pies sport a thin, flaky crust with tall sides that climb up the edge of the pan and are jam-packed with cheese, toppings, and topped off with sauce. While both of these pizzas wisely use cheese as a barrier to avoid a soggy crust, the similarities pretty much end there. Both are delicious, and both are worth a thorough taste test!