Detroit-Style Pizza
I grew up eating/knowing this as Sicilian-Style pizza, seeing as my great-grandparents were from Sicily. This style of pizza is not for everyone. You have to want your crust to be almost like a focaccia…and I most certainly do!
Detroit-Style pizza is in fact a descendant of the Sicilian sfincione. It’s basically pizza on top of bread which sounds like actual heaven to me. You can cut a corner with store-bought pizza sauce if that’s your jam, but my recipe really is so quick and easy (like me), and this bitch loves bragging rights. Oh, and the leftovers are to die for.
Detroit-Style Pizza Recipe
Did you say pizza on top of pillowy dough? Sign me UP!
Tried this recipe?Tag @la_faguette_ on Instagram!
Equipment
- 9 x 13 casserole dish, or Detroit-Style pizza pan (linked below!)
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST!
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (careful what you buy, all yeast is not created equal)
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp garlic, minced
- olive oil
- grated parmesan (the kind that looks like sand, for sprinkling)
- cornmeal, for sprinkling
FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE!
- My 'Easy Peasy Pizza Sauce' linked below!
TOPPINGS!
- 1 – 16 oz dry mozzarella or monterey jack brick, cut into small cubes (unfortunately fresh mozz does not work here otherwise your pizza will be swimming from the moisture)
- pepperoni slices (or whatever other toppings you want!)
Instructions
FOR THE DOUGH!
- Measure lukewarm water (not hot!, you should be able to hold your hand under the running water for 10 seconds) in a glass measuring cup. Add to it your honey, salt, and yeast, and stir well to dissolve. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow yeast to activate. It should become foamy/bubbly at the surface.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add flour and garlic. When yeast is done activating, pour the water mix in. Process until a ball forms and wipes the walls of the food processor clean. If too sticky, add more flour a little at a time.
- Plop dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple-a two three times. Form into a tight ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and set in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE!
- Follow this recipe for my EASY PEASY PIZZA SAUCE. So easy and SO yummy!!!
ASSEMBLY!
- Place an oven rack on the bottom most rung of your oven. Preheat to 500°F.
- Lather bottom and sides of baking dish with olive oil. Sprinkle parmesan evenly all over bottom. Repeat with cornmeal.
- Spread dough evenly across the surface of the dish, massaging it lightly to get it into the corners.
- Sprinkle half of the cheese cubes all over the dough, especially around the perimeter where the dough meets the dish…that's where the crunchy burnt crust tips comes from. We want this! It's delicious! Dollop your sauce on. Traditionally, Detroit-Style has 3 long 'rivers' of sauce going across, but you can do it however you want. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and your toppings. I like my toppings on top because I want them to brown and char!
- Bake on bottom rack for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- When done, allow pizza to cool for a couple minutes. Using a butter or pairing knife, go around the perimeter of the crust, separating the crust from the dish. Then, using a spatula, wiggle around the bottom to make sure that no part of the pizza is still attached to the dish. In one big swoop, transfer whole pizza onto a cooling rack set in a cookie sheet (or just on a cookie sheet if you don't have a cooling rack).
- For a crispier crust (and only effective if your pizza is on the cooling rack), place back oven back at 500°. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
- GRAND FINALE! Turn on broiler. Place pizza under the broiler and cook until desired gorgeous browness. Keep an eye on this because it's really easy to burn your pizza here! Please do not put glass casseroles under the broiler!!!
- Slice into squares and enjoy! COWABUNGA!!!
Notes
JUST THE TIPS!
1.) Set up your ‘mise en place.’ This means do what the recipe tells you to do to the individual ingredients, measure them out, and then place them in separate little bowls/dishes/what-have-you. When it’s time to build the recipe, you have everything measured and ready to go. It makes the entire process so much easier and more enjoyable!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
To Reheat Leftovers:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Place pizza slices on cooling rack (if you have one) set in a baking sheet, or directly on baking sheet. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
Equipment:
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I recommend, many of which I love and use daily!
I use my extra Easy Peasy Pizza from the freezer to speed up the process. This pizza has the crispiest corners and edges! The dough come out crunch on the crust and soft on the inside. I made it Italian beef style and it was to die for!
Italian beef pizza is literally the best!!!
I have to admit that I only had Detroit pizza for the first time November of 2020 and fell in love with it. I saw Santo’s recipe and wanted to try it. I have been making complete homemade pizza from scratch for about 6 months now. This was the best crust recipe I have made to date. My partner is vegiterian so I made a green pepper, black olives, pineapple and it was unbelievable! One of the best I ever made. So fun to make as my hobby is cooking and when Le Grande Dam Laurie likes it … A keeper!
LOVE A GOOD COOKING PROJECT, AND SO GLAD YOU BOTH ENJOYED IT!
AND LAURIE-APPROVED? HIGHEST COMPLIMENT.
I’m terrible at baking and anything involving flour and yeast. This was the first time I haven’t hated making dough but using the food processor instead of my mixer was a game changer! The sauce I could eat by the spoonful alone, and the crust turned out perfect. It’s definitely going to be added to our pizza night rotation.
I’M SO GLAD THIS HAS CHANGED YOUR VIEW ON BAKING, EVEN IF ONLY FOR THIS CRUST 🤪
AND ECSTATIC TO BE IN ROTATION! THANK YOU!!!