Let us just come right out and say it… Detroit Style Pizza might be our favorite. We love all things pizza here at FB but this one is unique and oh so good. We can at least definitively make one declaration: This is the best style of pizza that not a lot of folks know about. More on that in a moment. Buckle up, we are headed for stop 3 in the Flavor Bible Pizza Series!
Lesson 1 in this pizza series journey: we need a more aggressive exercise regimen! Did we mention we created a Summer burger series as well?!?! Alas, those are our problems and not yours. It’s the burden we will have to bear in order to bring you the good stuff.
What is Detroit Style Pizza?
Unless you are from a certain part of the country or visit there you may not have even known Detroit had its own style of pizza. Like… is there really pizza outside of New York or Chicago? I mean, omg.
Excuse our sarcasm, it happens to be a strong suit. But, yes, Detroit has a pizza… and IT. IS. AWESOME.
Most know Detroit for the auto manufacturing industry and, of course, the iconic R&B and soul music that rose to fame in the ’60s. It’s no wonder that pizza took a back seat in popularity.
Detroit style pizza is a rectangular pie much like you’d see in the Sicilian variety. In fact, consider it a descendant. We won’t bog this down with a complete history (you can read more with a quick google search) but a snippet from Eater.com provides the proper ode to this amazing iteration of pizza:
With its rectangular shape, light, airy dough, and savory, browned cheese perimeter, the Detroit-style pie encourages savoring of the corner pieces, where crust real estate is most plentiful. True to its blue-collar Motor City roots, the square is an everyman of pizza, inviting eaters to feast in a come-as-you-are fashion — either with a fork and knife or by hand.
https://www.eater.com/2016/1/19/10787414/detroit-style-pizza-best-where-to-eat
Are you drooling yet? The pizza was originally baked in pans used to hold automotive parts (fitting, right?). The toppings are usually placed on the crust, topped with cheese, and then two or three lines of sauce, affectionately referred to as “racing stripes”. The cheese is spread to the edges and caramelizes against the pan, giving the crust a lacy, crispy edge.
Our thin crust lovers may be a little apprehensive but we implore you to expand your horizons a bit. Our deep dish lovers may find this a little more attractive but the crust is more than what they’re used to. Relax. This is a delight one must try before applying their pizza biases =)
Preparation: Detroit Style Pizza
As always, get your ingredients together on the front end. Let the dough get to room temperature. We’ve mentioned this in previous posts – you’re welcome to make your own dough if you are so inclined but we find that the local pizza joint you know and love has probably been making dough for several decades so, in the name of simplicity, why try to one-up them? They have a science and expertise we prefer not to challenge! We do, however, make our pizza sauce (we have to draw a line somewhere) so we recommend giving it a try. Click the link and whip that up in short order. It’s very easy to make.
Toppings
Simple was the name of the game in this Detroit Style Pizza. What looks like pepperoni in the photos is actually sliced sopressata. It acts a lot like pepperoni in that it is a sliced sausage with a little spice but it’s coarser ground and we think it was a nice tweak.
As for the cheese, well Wisconsin Brick Cheese – the traditional cheese in this style – is not available in our parts but we found that low moisture blocks of mozzarella cut into cubes were a suitable replacement.
Let’s Stretch!
No, not calisthenics. Sorry, if we excited you. It’s time to stretch that room temperature dough. Stretch the dough in the shape of your pan, in our case rectangular.
Coat the pan with the oil. Place the dough in the pan and coax the dough into the edges and corners. If you have trouble, let the dough relax a few minutes and come back to it. Be careful not to tear the dough.
Let’s Cook!
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Move the oven rack to the bottom position. This will allow the crust to crisp up on the outer edges while avoiding an overcook on the cheese. This is key. Don’t skip it.
Layer half the sopressata (or pepperoni) on top of the dough, spreading from end to end. On top of the meat, spread the cubed cheese.
Layer on the other half of the meat and 3 layers of sauce – the racing stripes. Originally added after the bake and sometimes called “red top” this is the final step we implement before placing the pizza in the oven. Adding the sauce to the top of the pizza keeps the crust from getting soggy. Just go with it… your life is about to be changed.
Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown and sides have crusted dark brown.
Remove pizza from the oven and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. With a spatula CAREFULLY remove the pizza to a cutting board.
Top with a sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan, slice into 12 equal portions, and serve.
Equipment: Detroit Style Pizza
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You can go truly authentic and make this in a Detroit style pizza pan. If you’re worried you won’t get enough use out of it for the investment or storage space you can get away with a cake pan. No one has to know. Either way, make the pizza because it’s not going to disappoint! Affiliate links below:
Help Us Grow!
Once you finish basking in the glory of another incredible dish we would love for you to rate and comment below. Tell us how you added your own spin to this recipe. Maybe even give us a share on social media with #flavorbible. You can also follow us on our social pages by clicking the links at the bottom of the page. We look forward to sharing future recipes with you that are inspired from all over the globe. We’re all about indiscriminate applications of flavor – it’s in our name!
Detroit Style Pizza
Equipment
- Cake Pan or Detroit Style Pizza Pan
Ingredients
- 1 batch Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce See link in post.
- 1 Large Pizza Dough Ball Easily bought at many pizza places or grocery
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 9 oz Sopressata (or pepperoni), sliced
- 1 lb Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese, cubed
Instructions
- Set the dough out and let it get to room temperature.
- Make the pizza sauce (see link in post). If you must, you can use store bought sauce in a pinch.
- Depending on your topping, prep accordingly. In our case, cube the cheese and slice the sopressata (or pepperoni).
- Stretch the dough to the shape of the pan, a rectangle in our case.
- Coat the pan in the oil. Place the dough in the cooking pan. Continue to stretch it to the corners until it reaches. If dough is difficult allow to relax for 15 minutes and stretch again.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F. Move the oven rack to the bottom position (explained in post).
- Layer half the sopressata (or pepperoni) on top of the dough, spreading from end to end. On top of the meat, spread the cubed cheese.
- Layer on the other half of the meat and 3 layers of sauce (the racing stripes, described in post).
- Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown and sides have crusted dark brown.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes. With a spatula remove pizza to a cutting board.
- Top with a sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan, slice into 12 equal portions, and serve.
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