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Detroit Style Pizza
4.8 from 279 votes

Detroit Style Pizza

Detroit Style Pizza features a thick, airy crust baked in a well-oiled dark pan to develop a crispy, golden bottom and characteristic browned cheese edges. This recipe combines a wet, elastic dough made from all-purpose flour, water, yeast, and olive oil, which is stretched slowly to prevent tearing. It’s topped generously with cubed provolone and shredded mozzarella cheeses, pepperoni, and a pizza sauce spread over the toppings, baked until bubbly and golden.

Prep Time
1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Rise Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 6
Calories: 340 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian, American

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 *See notes below for active dry yeast
  • 3/4 (6 ounces) cups water warm
Topping:
  • 3 ounces provolone cheese cubed, aged
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1/2 cup pizza sauce
  • 5 ounces pepperoni cups

Instructions

To Make the Pizza Dough:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9x13-inch baking pan. The darker the aluminum, the better. This will give you a better crust.
  2. In a bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, salt and instant yeast.
  3. Pour in the warm water and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix again. The dough will be pretty wet and that’s ok!
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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:
  1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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

  • If the dough sticks to your fingers, lightly coat them with olive oil to handle the dough easily.
  • A dark-colored 9x13-inch metal pan gives the best crust texture; avoid glass pans as they don’t conduct heat adequately.
  • Spread cheese all the way to the edges of the pan to get the crispy, caramelized cheese edges that characterize Detroit-style pizza.
  • Use thicker-cut pepperoni to form curled cups during baking, enhancing flavor and texture.
  • A quality pizza sauce like Rao's brings authentic flavor when spooned over the cheese and pepperoni.

Nutrition Information

Serving 8g Calories 340kcal (17%) Carbohydrates 30g (10%) Protein 12g (24%) Fat 12g (18%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Cholesterol 22mg (7%) Sodium 290mg (12%) Potassium 3mg (0%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 34IU (1%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 12mg (1%) Iron 264mg (1467%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 340

% Daily Value*

Serving 8g
Calories 340kcal 17%
Carbohydrates 30g 10%
Protein 12g 24%
Fat 12g 18%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 22mg 7%
Sodium 290mg 12%
Potassium 3mg 0%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 34IU 1%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 12mg 1%
Iron 264mg 1467%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.