A Square Meal

The secret to making crispy, chewy, cheesy Detroit-style pizza at home

- produced by PAIGE GRANDJEAN,photography by VICTOR PROTASIO

DETROIT-STYLE PIZZA

BAKED IN A RECTANGULAR steel pan, with a bottom layer of melted cheese that goes all the way to the edges of its caramelized and crispy crust, Detroit-style pizza is a decidedly unique pizza style. Pepperoni is layered not just on top but also underneath the cheese. Stripes of tomato sauce top the whole affair. But my favorite thing about Detroit-style pizza is how forgiving it is. No matter your level of pizza-making experience, with the right ingredients and a little know-how, anyone can make this Motor City classic at home. It’s an ideal, feeds-a-crowd dinner to balance out all of the holiday cooking around this time of year.

The crust uses a relatively high-hydration dough made with bread flour, which creates the optimal combination of sturdiness and tenderness. While old-school pizzerias in Detroit may ferment their dough for a day or two, this recipe calls for a simple two-hour rise. Next, the dough is stretched into a very well-greased rectangular metal pan before a quick second rise.

More is more when it comes to the toppings: A layer of pepperoni goes on first. Then comes the cheese. Unlike most other pizzas, which leave a border of untopped crust, Detroit-style pies take the cheese all the way to the edges of the pan, where it bakes into its characteristically crispy edge. Use Wisconsin brick cheese if you can find it—this semihard cow-milk cheese melts smoothly and caramelizes, creating toasty brown-butter flavors. (If you can’t find brick cheese, substitute low-moisture mozzarella cheese.) Before baking, top the cheese with alternating stripes of tomato sauce and more pepperoni.