Detroit Style Pizza

If you love thick and fluffy pizza with the most insane crispy crust, this Detroit style pizza made at home is going to blow your mind! The dough takes less than 10 minutes to make and it turns in to a delicious dinner that always impresses. 

My favorite way to make this pizza is with beef pepperoni and jalapeños. There’s a pizza spot in New York City called Scar’s pizza that does the classic New York slice but with beef pepperoni, jalapeños, and hot honey. It’s my favorite flavor combination ever so I had to recreate it but Detroit style. I also love adding some burrata on top for a fresh element when it comes out of the oven. Let’s make it!

The Dough

The dough is pretty easy to make and comes together quickly! There is just a bit of down time but that gives you an opportunity to prep some other components of the recipe.

To a large mixing bowl, add the bread flour, salt, instant yeast, lukewarm water, sugar, and olive oil. You can swap all purpose flour for bread flour if need be but try to use bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all purpose flour which means more gluten. This is ideal for pizza because we want to be able to stretch the dough!

Bring the dough together using a hook attachment on a stand mixer or use a wooden spoon/rubber spatula. You can also knead it by hand. Knead together for about 2 to 3 minutes until you have a soft and elastic dough. It should be a bit sticky but not difficult to handle. If it is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour and combine.

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes. This resting time will allow the gluten to arrange itself into a structure that will make the dough easier for you to stretch around!

To a 9×13 deep baking pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and grease the bottom and sides well. Transfer the dough to the pan and start to stretch it out from the inside to the edges until you have a large rectangular dough that fills up the pan. If it keeps springing back, cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes and try to stretch again! Repeat until the dough is stretched out evenly to the size of the pan.

Once the dough fills the pan, cover again and let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour or until risen.

I used my Caraway 9×13 pan because the pan I typically use was being borrowed so I ordered a new one but then it didn’t arrive in time. I highly recommend this 9×13 deep baking pan for Detroit style pizza. The darker the metal, the more heat it conducts so you get that crispy golden brown crust. It is the one I typically use for this recipe!

Baking the Pizza

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 525°F. I do this about halfway into the hour of rising. This allows enough time for the oven to get really really hot which is the key for good pizza.

In the meantime, make a garlic butter to brush the dough in. This is completely optional but adds so much flavor. To a small bowl, add the melted butter, parsley, garlic, parmesan, salt, black pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes.

Once the dough is ready to go, brush with the garlic butter, especially on the edges. Add your favorite pizza sauce of choice on top and spread evenly. My favorite to use is Raos Marinara Sauce. It’s not as tangy and more on the sweet tomato side which I love. Then go in heavy with the shredded mozzarella cheese. You can also use small cubes of cheese which is Detroit style. Just MAKE SURE to add cheese along the edges too so it crisps up well and attaches to the crust. Then add your favorite toppings – I went with beef pepperoni and jalapeño.

Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and crispy all around. Take out of the oven and slice into 8 squares. To finish it off, I like to add fresh burrata on top, hot honey, and parmesan!

What Pan Do I Use?

The perfect size pan for this recipe is 9×13 and I couldn’t recommend this USA Pan Bakeware Rectangular Pan enough. I did not get to use this in my video because mine was being borrowed and the new one didn’t arrive until the day after I filmed this so I used my Caraway 9×13 baking pan instead. I highly recommend using this one from Amazon because it conducts heat a lot better so you get that beautiful crispy crust which is a MUST for Detroit pizza.

Other Recipes Like This to Try

• Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Rolls
• Butter Chicken Naan Pizza
• Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
• Pizza Grilled Cheese
• Pizza Hawaiian Rolls

If you tried this recipe and loved it, drop by down below and let me know how you liked it with a rating and comment! Feel free to also leave a question there about this recipe and I’ll get right back to it.

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