Chewy, fluffy and crisp dough topped with sweet tomato sauce and gooey, tangy cheese. This Detroit-Style Pizza will not only cure your pizza cravings but also leave you wanting more!
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Forget Chicago Style, Dominos and Pizza Hut. Detroit-Style Pizza is the upcoming It Girl of the pizza world. Never heard of one? Here’s some more info:
What is a Detroit Style Pizza?
Detroit-Style pizza is rectangular or square shaped pizza with a thick crust, crispy cheesy edges and a whole lot of tomato sauce. It is traditionally made with Wisconsin Brick Cheese but here in the UK that is pretty hard to find so in my opinion, just use whatever cheese you like best. I used a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan on mine (another great recommendation would be buffalo mozzarella!)
What’s the Difference between Chicago Style Pizzas and Detroit Style Pizzas?
A chicago style pizza is usually cooked in a large circle pan (like a cake pan) with high edges. It is usually layered with cheese then tomato sauce and the a light sprinkle of parmesan on top. Honestly other than being pizzas, the Chicago and Detroit style pizzas are quite polar opposites appearance wise.
Does this recipe use Pizza Dough?
Yes and No! Detroit-Style pizza is historically an Americanised version of the Italian Sicilian pizza, which is traditionally made from focaccia bread. This recipe, as you can probably tell from the amount of oil used here, is a happy balance between a focaccia and the traditional pizza dough; you get the best of both worlds with qualities such as focaccia’s chewiness and crispness as well as pizza dough’s soft and melt in your mouth texture.
Looking for a true focaccia bread? Click here to my Easiest and Fluffiest Focaccia Bread recipe.
But isn’t the Tomato Sauce of a True Detroit style Pizza meant to be on top of the Cheese?
Again the answer is yes and no. Some recipe like to layer on cheese then tomato and toppings whereas some stick to a more traditional pizza order going from tomato to cheese to toppings. It’s really whatever floats your boat. I prefer my pizza this way but if you want your cheese underneath your pizza sauce, go for it!
What kind of Pan should I use for this Recipe?
I use a square pan like this one. You can also use a rectangle deep dish pan here. Or if your feeling traditional why not use a circle cake pan like this one. Or if you’re feeling really fancy why not make a heart-shaped pizza.
Cheesy Detroit-Style Pizza
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 Cup Warm Water
- 2 Tbsps White Sugar
- 1 Tsp Instant Yeast
- 2 ¼ Cup Plain Flour
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsps Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
For the Toppings
- Tomato Sauce any will do but I recommend adding in 1 tsp of sugar and 2 tbsps of tomato paste to your tomato sauce for extra flavour
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
For the Dough
- Mix together your warm water, sugar and yeast
- Add in your flour, olive oil and salt and mix until a rough dough forms
- Knead your dough for 10 mins
- Knead in 1/4 cup of olive oil into your dough, gradually, until all of the oil is used up
- Let your dough rise for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size
- After proving, transfer your dough into a square or rectangle baking pan that’s filled with 1-2 tbsps of oil- this makes sure the dough is crispy after baking
- Use your fingers to help spread your dough into the pan
- Let your dough rest for 30-45 mins
Assembling the Pizza
- Preheat your oven to 220ºC
- Pour and spread a generous amount of tomato sauce onto your dough
- Sprinkle over your cheese, making sure every area of dough is covered (even the edges)
- Bake your pizza in your preheated oven for 15-20 mins or until the cheese is crispy and brown
- Slice up your pizza into 4 and enjoy while warm!
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