🏁 Detroit-Style Pizza Calculator

Detroit Dough Specs

Hydration is what separates Detroit from every other pan pizza. Square Sicilian sits around 60%. Grandma is maybe 62-65%. Detroit runs 68-75% — wet enough that the dough almost pours into the pan. That's where the open, airy crumb comes from. Under-hydrate it and you get a dense, bready base that misses the point.

The pan is the second key. A seasoned blue-steel or anodised aluminium 10x14 pan is the standard. Cast iron works but runs hotter at the edges. Add oil to the pan before the dough goes in — a thin pool, not a coating. That oil fries the base during the bake and gives you the dark, almost-burnt bottom that's a signature, not a mistake.

The Frico Edge

The crispy cheese around the perimeter is called frico. You get it by pushing shredded brick cheese (or a low-moisture mozzarella blend) all the way to the pan wall. The cheese melts, leaks down the side, and caramelises against the hot steel. When you cut the pizza, the edge peels up in a lace-like crust.

Wisconsin brick cheese is the authentic pick — mild, buttery, melts cleanly without getting oily. If you can't find it, substitute with half Muenster (for the melt) and half low-moisture mozzarella (for the structure). Don't use fresh mozzarella: too much water, no frico.

Sauce Goes On Top

Unlike most pizzas, Detroit-style gets sauced after baking, or the sauce is striped over the cheese in two parallel lines before baking. The cheese sits directly on the dough, caramelises during the bake, and the uncooked sauce finishes the pizza with acidity. Canned crushed tomatoes, a bit of olive oil, garlic powder, dried oregano. Keep it simple.

Detroit Recipes

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