Detroit-style pizza is unlike anything else — a rectangular, deep-pan pizza with a thick, focaccia-like crust that is crispy on the outside and airy inside. What makes it legendary are the caramelised cheese edges: Wisconsin brick cheese pressed right to the sides of the pan creates a crunchy, lacey crust that rivals the centre. Sauce goes on top, after the cheese. Order has never been more important.
Combine flour, yeast, salt, water and olive oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms — this is a wet, sticky dough at 70% hydration. Mix for 5 minutes, do not over-knead. It will be much stickier than Neapolitan dough.
Instead of kneading, do 3 sets of stretch-and-fold at 30-minute intervals. Wet your hand, grab one side of the dough, stretch upward and fold over the centre. Rotate 90° and repeat. This builds structure without extra flour.
Cover and refrigerate for 24–48 hours. The long cold ferment gives Detroit dough its distinctive open, airy crumb and deep flavour.
Generously oil a 23×33cm Detroit pan or rectangular baking tray. Place the dough in the pan and gently stretch towards the corners. If it springs back, wait 15 min and try again. Cover and proof at room temperature for 2 hours until puffy.
This is the key Detroit difference. Cube or crumble the brick cheese and press it right to the edges of the pan — even up the sides. The cheese that touches the hot pan will caramelise into a crispy, crunchy lace crust.
Press cup-and-char pepperoni into the cheese. When baked, the cups fill with rendered fat and crisp up — this is called "roni cups" and is essential to the Detroit experience.
Bake at 250°C on the bottom rack for 12–15 minutes. The bottom should be golden and crispy, the cheese edges should be deeply caramelised and the top golden. No sauce yet.
This is the Detroit way: sauce goes on after baking (or in the last 3 minutes). Heat crushed tomatoes with garlic, oregano and a pinch of salt. Ladle it in two "racing stripes" across the top of the pizza.
Let the pizza rest in the pan for 3 minutes, then use a spatula to lift onto a cutting board. Slice into squares. The crispy bottom should stay crispy — never leave it in the pan or it will steam soft.
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