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
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 used comes from 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.
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 it’s sat out at room temperature so that’s it’s nice and soft and pliable.
Cheese
This is the most unique ingredient of all. Shredded brick cheese is what sets Detroit pizza apart from Chicago or New York pizza (or even St. Louis pizza which calls for processed provel cheese).
Brick cheese melts creamy 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.
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.
Your call!
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.
Things learned to make crispy pan pizza
- Use the autolyse technique for mixing the dough to allow the gluten to develop making it easier to work with and knead.
- Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for maximum flavor.
- Par-baking the pizza crust for 5 minutes creates a crispy base, especially at the center where things typically go soft.
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 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 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.
Wet your hands with a little water when kneading the dough to avoid it from sticking too much.Pro tip
Assembling the pizza
The order is:
- dough
- cheese
- sauce
- toppings
- 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.
- Parbake the crust at 475˚ for 5 minutes.
- 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.
- Sprinkle grated cheese over the crust. Tuck some between the sides of the pan and the crust.
- Use a large spoon to drizzle sauce over the cheese. You don’t want to cover the cheese completely.
- Layer on the pepperoni making sure that every piece has ample spicy bites.
- 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.
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5 from 2 votes
Charred Pepperoni Pan Pizza with Brick Cheese (Detroit-style)
My quest for a homemade Detroit-style pizza started with lots of recipe testing and experimenting and finally settling on a cupped pepperoni pan pizza with light bakery crust, caramelized brick cheese and crispy edges. Learn how to make this Motor City pizza for your next pizza party.
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Prep Time:20 minutes mins
Cook Time:25 minutes mins
Dough rising time:9 hours hrs
Total Time:9 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Servings 4
Equipment
Detroit style pizza pan I have the large size, 10" x 14"
Ingredients
For the dough
- 400 grams all-purpose flour, almost 3 cups
- 12 grams sugar
- 12 grams instant yeast
- 290 grams water
- 12 grams kosher salt
Toppings
- 1 lb brick cheese , grated
- 6 oz Boar's Head Natural Casing Pepperoni, sliced thin
- fresh grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
For the sauce
- 28 oz canned tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- crushed red pepper, optional
Instructions
Make the sauce:
In a small saucepan, smash the tomatoes with a potato masher (or slightly puree in a blender). Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Cool.
For the dough:
In a large bowl, stir the flour and water together. Allow the flour/water mix to sit for about 10 minutes. This is called an autolyse and allows the flour to be hydrated. This process makes for more stretchy, more flavorful dough albeit results in a slower fermentation.
Stir in the yeast and the sugar Once mixed, add in the salt and mix together in a bowl either by hand or a stand mixer. You can also use a food processor.
Bring the dough together and knead for about minutes on a floured counter until smooth. Conversely, use a dough hook/blade in either a stand mixer or food processor and mix on medium low until the dough is smooth. It will be sticky to the touch.
Tips: wet your hands with a little water when kneading the dough.
Pour dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 24 hours.
About 2 hours before you want to eat, butter and oil a Detroit style pizza pan. Place the dough in the center and stretch it to the edges. Allow the dough to rise for another hour. Dimple with hands.
Preheat oven to 475˚
Top the pizza:
Parbake pizza at 475˚ for about 5 minutes. Remove the crust from the pan so it doesn’t get soggy. Add the crust back to the pan
Sprinkle the cheese on the edges of the pie first and tuck some down the sides of the pan. Then sprinkle in the middle. Spread on sauce either in rows (diagonal) or clumps. Top with pieces of sliced pepperoni.
Place the pizza on a rack right below the middle. Bake until the top is golden and the edges are dark and the pepperoni is charred and curled.
Notes
We are making a dough of 72% hydration that will rise overnight on the counter.
Course: Main Course, Pizza
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Lori Murphy
Did you make this recipe? Tag @josieandnina or tag #josieandnina!
