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This is not everyday pizza. It's not every-week pizza. It might not even be every-month, if you want to live to a reasonable age. But damn, is it good pizza. So good that it's worth a trip to Detroit just to taste it. So good that it's worth devoting months of time, weeks of research, and dozens and dozens of experiments to developing a recipe to duplicate it at home. So that's exactly what I did. Here's what I found.

Detroit-Style Pan Pizza Recipe

For the Dough:

bread flour (10.5 ounces; about 2 generous cups)

instant yeast (0.15 ounce;

salt

water (7.75 ounces;

Extra-virgin olive oil,

For the Sauce:

(30 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil

garlic, minced

(about 5 grams) dried oregano

red pepper flakes

(28-ounce; 800 grams) can high-quality crushed tomatoes

(about 6 grams) granulated garlic powder

(about 6 grams) granulated onion powder

(about 15 grams) sugar

Kosher salt,

To Finish:

(340 grams) high-quality natural-casing pepperoni,

To Make the Dough in a Stand Mixer: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Stir to combine, then add water. Mix on low speed until dough comes together into a rough ball, then shut off mixer and let rest for 10 minutes. Continue mixing at medium-low speed until dough forms a smooth, silky ball, about 10 minutes longer. (It should stick to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads rather than riding around the edges.) Remove dough hook, form dough into a tight ball, set in the bottom of the mixer bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

To Make the Dough in a Food Processor: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add water, then turn on processor and process until dough forms a ball that rides around the bowl of the processor, about 30 seconds. Continue processing for 30 seconds longer. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

To Make the Dough by Hand: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add water and stir with a wooden spoon until a rough ball of dough has formed. Set aside for 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto a countertop and knead until a smooth, silky ball has formed, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Pour a couple tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a Detroit-style anodized aluminum pan or two 8- by 8-inch cake pans. (Split dough in half if using cake pans.) Transfer dough to pan(s) and turn to coat in oil. Press down on dough and spread it toward the edges. You won't be able to get it all the way to the edges; this is okay. Spread it as much as you can without tearing, then cover tightly in plastic and set aside for 30 minutes to allow dough to relax. Return to dough and stretch it out again. It should be able to reach the edges this time. If not, let it rest a little more and try again. To get the dough to stay in the corners, stretch it up beyond the corners so that it pulls back into place. Once dough is stretched, cover again and set aside while you make the sauce.

For the Sauce: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 550°F (290°C), or as close to it as your oven gets. Heat 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

To Form the Pizza: Press down on dough with your fingertips to remove any large air bubbles. Lay half of pepperoni (if using) evenly over face of dough. Top with cheese, spreading it evenly all the way to the very edges of the pan, then add remaining pepperoni. Spoon sauce over surface in 3 even rows. (You will need only about half the sauce—save the rest for another pizza.)

Transfer to oven and bake until edges are black and bubbly and exposed cheese on top is starting to lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a trivet or folded kitchen towel on countertop.

Run a thin metal spatula all the way around the edges of the pan to loosen the pizza. Carefully lift it out and slide it onto a cutting board. Cut pizza and serve.

Below you will find two methods for making Detroit-style pizza dough: one leavened by yeast, one leavened by a sourdough starter. Apart from the leavening agents, the make-up of the dough is nearly identical in terms of quantities of water and flour. The yeast version is 76% hydration; the sourdough is 77% hydration. Which one to use? Most often I use the yeast-leavened recipe here. I find the nuanced flavors found in a sourdough pizza crust get a bit lost under the blanket of cheese, pepperoni, and any other toppings. The video below is for the yeast-leaved Detroit-Style Pizza. Here is the video for the sourdough Detroit-Style Pizza. 
Notes: 
As always, for best results, please use a digital scale to measure everything. Volume cups simply are not accurate.  
Water: I typically use lukewarm water for yeast-leavened doughs, but here I call for room temperature or cold tap water. This is because it's such a small amount of dough, and the dough will reach the ambient temperature of your kitchen very quickly. For sourdough breads and pizzas, I always recommend using cold or room temperature water. If you are making this in the winter, however, lukewarm water will help the process progress in a timely manner.
Flour:  I have had success using all-purpose flour, but if you can get your hands on bread flour, that is ideal, especially if you live in Canada or abroad. Moreover, if you live in Canada or abroad, you may need to reduce the water amount. Consider holding back some of the water (25 grams or so) during the mixing process to ensure you don’t end up with a soupy mess. You can always add it back in slowly if the dough is too dry. 
Cheese: Wisconsin Brick cheese is traditional but it can be hard to come by if you live in the Northeast. A mix of whole milk mozzarella and Cheddar or Monterey Jack works great. Generally, I prefer block cheese as opposed to grated, but I have had great success using a mix of Cabot grated sharp cheddar and Sargento's grated whole milk, low-moisture mozzarella.
Sauce: I love a vodka sauce on pizza, such as this one or this one. This is my favorite fresh tomato sauce recipe. Of course, use your favorite tomato sauce here. I love all of the Rao's brand sauces. 
Pan: I hate to encourage spending money on yet another piece of equipment, but a Lloyd Detroit-Style pizza pan does make a difference. I love my 9x13-inch USA pan, but a Lloyd Pan truly creates a crisper, more golden bottom. Furthermore, if you have a Baking Steel or pizza stone, baking the pizza on it will encourage even better browning. 
Timeline: Plan ahead. As noted in the post above, a long cold ferment makes for a light, airy dough. Ideally, mix the dough 48 hours before you plan on baking. There are several ways to do this:

For the yeast-leavened dough, you can mix the dough and stick it in the fridge for 48 hours. Or you can mix the dough, pan it, and stick the pan in the fridge for 48 to 72 hours. For the yeast-leavened dough, I seem to get the best results when I bulk ferment for 48 hours, pan it; then return the pan to the fridge for 3 to 24 hours. That said: I have made the dough the night before I've served it, and no one (but me) seemed to notice a difference in the texture of the crust.
For the sourdough, you can mix the dough, perform the stretches and folds, then let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature. When it doubles or nearly doubles, proceed with the recipe or stick the dough in the fridge until you have time to move on to the next step — this is what I do in the video. After you get the dough in the pan and top it with cheese, ideally it should spend 24 hours in the fridge before you bake it. 

The toppings: As far as Detroit-style pizza goes, this one is on the light side. You may want to up the amount of cheese and or pepperoni depending on your tastes and preferences. The pickled jalapeño and pepperoni pizza below is inspired by "The Colony" served at several of the Matt and Emily Hyland pizza restaurants, the recipe for which also can be found in their book, EMILY: The Cookbook. 

Detroit Style Pizza (Yeast &amp; Sourdough)

(2 heaping cups) bread flour

(1.5 teaspoons) kosher salt

(1 teaspoon) instant yeast, SAF is my preference

(3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) water

(1.75 cups + 1 tablespoon) bread flour

(1/4 cup) to

(3/4 cup) water

(14 g) softened butter

olive oil

(142 grams) Cheddar or Monterey Jack

(142 grams) low-moisture, whole-milk mozzarella

pickled jalapeños, to taste, optional

tomato sauce,

light drizzle honey, optional

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the water. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the water is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Set a timer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, dampen your hands with water; then pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. (In the video, I employ a &#8220;slap and fold&#8221; technique.) By the end, the dough should feel smoother and stronger. You can repeat this “stretch and fold” one more time 30 minutes later if time permits or you can simply set the bowl aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk. (In the video, I transfer the dough to a straight-sided vessel — this is to better show the dough doubling in volume.) 

Dust a work surface or cutting board very lightly with flour. (If you are comfortable using no flour at all, do that.) Turn the dough out onto your floured surface. Using floured hands, shape the blob of dough into a ball — it helps to use the pinkie-edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath each ball or to use a bench scraper. At this point, you can transfer the dough to a lidded vessel and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 3 months. Skip to preparing the pan for baking.

Place the water in a large bowl. Add the starter and stir with a spatula to combine. Add the salt and stir again; then add the flour. Mix again until the flour is mostly incorporated. Use your hands if necessary to briefly knead in the last bits of flour. Cover vessel with a tea towel or cloth bowl cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes have passed, reach into the vessel and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the vessel quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. After these two sets of stretches and folds, you should see a difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic.

If you have a straight-sided vessel, transfer the dough to it; then cover it with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 8 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume. (A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.)

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a rough ball. I like to do this without flour, but use flour as needed — the dough will be sticky. Use the pinkie-edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath to create a ball. Skip to preparing the pan for baking.

Grease the pan with the tablespoon of softened butter. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the center. Place the dough ball in the pan and turn to coat. Let rest 30 &#8211; 60 minutes. With lightly oiled hands, stretch the dough to fit the pan. You may not get it all the way to the edges. When the dough resists, let it rest again, for 5 to 10 minutes or so; then stretch it to the edges.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pizza, spreading it all the way to the edges. 

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and transfer pan to the fridge for at least 3 hours but ideally 18-24 hours. Note: If you are rushed and want to bake the pizza immediately, you can let it proof at room temperature: 1 hour for the yeast-leavened pizza, 3 to 4 hours for the sourdough-leavened pizza.

If you have a Baking Steel or pizza stone, place it on a rack in the lower third of your oven, and heat your oven to 500ºF. Finish topping the pizza: spread the 1/2 cup of tomato sauce evenly over the top. Spread the pepperoni evenly over the surface. If you are using pickled jalapeños, scatter them evenly over the pizza, keeping in mind heat tolerance — they make the pizza very spicy. Let the topped pizza rest at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.

Transfer pizza to the oven and place on heated Baking Steel or pizza stone for 15 minutes or until the edges look very caramelized — nearly burnt. Remove the pan from the oven and let the pizza rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Run a paring knife or spatula around the pan’s edges. Then, carefully remove the entire pizza from the pan, transferring it to a cutting board. If you are using the honey, drizzle it over top. Cut the pizza into 12 pieces and serve.

JUST FINISHED READING WHAT YOU POSTED............... AND WATCHING VIDEOS.
 
 YOU COVERED IT ALL SO DARN GREAT.    I WILL STUDY WHAT YOU WROTE AGAIN WHEN I AM READY TO MAKE IT.     MY MOUTH WAS WATERING.......... AND YES I'm drooling :)  

  THANK YOU FOR WRITING UP THIS FABULOUS RECIPE .... BOTH KINDS....... LIKE YOU WERE SITTING NEXT TO ME.......... AND SHOWING ME EXACTLY WHAT TO DO.

I LOVE ALL YOUR OPINIONS............ YOU ARE ONE VERY SPECIAL COOK............  AND TEACHER.    SO GLAD I FOUND YOU.     SOON I'LL BE IN HEAVEN EATING TOO MUCH OF THIS RECIPE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA   &lt;3   &lt;3

Alex!

This was so delicious!!  Curious if you have used the Loyd pan for anything else or just pizza? 

I followed directions to a t. I weighed my ingredients. Did the slap and pull. Put it in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Purchased a Lloyd pan to cook it in. It tasted good but my dough did not rise and get puffy.  I know my yeast is good since I recently bought it and have been using it successfully.  At a loss.

Wow!  This was a home run for my family of large, college-age fellows!  I have to say, you "quarantine taught" me to make bread (peasant bread, sourdough focaccia, hot cross buns, cinnamon rolls, etc) and I have never been disappointed.  This pizza was no exception.  Your videos are so easy to follow and incredibly helpful.  Thank you so much for enhancing my cooking life!    

I’ve tried home made pizza before, but this recipe is by far the best! I had one in the fridge snd cooked it tonight when family came over. They all said it was some of the best pizza they’d ever had, cheesy snd bubbly with beautiful crispy edges.  I will never go back to my old recipes or trying to roll out dough. Thank you. 

This was DELICIOUS. LOVE the pickled japs and honey. I followed the yeast recipe, made the dough Thurs morning and put in the fridge. Made the pizza Friday morning and baked it on Friday night, crust turned out light and delicious. Next time will try to make dough Weds night and pizza Thurs night for Friday baking. I used a 9x13 pan so may have been on the thicker side. Baked on a Baking Steel which you inspired me to buy years ago when my cheap pizza stones kept cracking. I think I'll make a triple recipe next time and freeze 2 batches for later! From the freezer, should I immediately turn into greased pan and let rest for 30-60 mins before stretching out or let rest longer? This might be my new go-to for pizza night - I've been making Lahey dough based on your advice but like you say, its hard to sit down plus there is flour all over the kitchen. Thanks, you're the best!

Hi Ali,
I finally was able to make the pizza this past week.  I think I need to make some tweaks because the interior pieces were cooked  but the crust was too soft. The edge pieces were great and I loved the flavors of the peperoni, jalapeno and honey.  I drained and dried the  pickled jalapenos before using.  I used a mix of Monterey jack and low moisture, whole milk mozzarella for the cheese. My sauce amount were a bit more than your recipe called for.

My Lloyd's pan turned out to be there 16X20 so I scaled the dough up based on volume difference with 10X14. Bake time was increased by 3 minutes and pizza was baked on baking steel that had been heated to 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Any tips for better execution on my part and crisper crust throughout would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your hard work on putting this recipe together.

Hi Ali,
Thanks for taking your time to give me such a thoughtful reply.  
I think your suggestion for a longer bake with a lower temperature for the extra time might just be the key. My sauce is fairly low moisture but I will probably cut it back some next time.
I did use both the oil and butter in the pan. 
I am looking forward to my next try and will let you know how it goes. 

Hi Ali,
Thanks for the info on your recent videos for sourdough pissaladière and Detroit pizza. 
I am currently in Wisconsin and am looking forward to trying your recent postings including the baked feta with tomatoes. 
I did have a question. Would it be worth it to find some brick cheese for the Detroit pizza while I am here or are you just as happy with your cheese combination. 
I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in reaching out with information and help
Bruce

Hi Ali.
I became interested in Detroit Pizza a few months ago. Tried a recipe and it was fine. However, you, as always, make things better. :-)  I was excited when I saw your post for DP. I used the yeast recipe. The directions were perfect and the results were fantastic!  As usual, the video always helps. Thank you.

Ps.... If you haven't bought Ali's book yet... what are you waiting for? It's a must for any collection with great recipes.

I love this recipe and had to purchase 2 pans so I could make enough for my family!  My only problem is the dough does not seem to be as open/airy as yours, but rather dense.  I am doing the 48 hour bulk ferment..  Any ideas how to improve?  I do live in the Northeast and it has been quite humid! Thank you.

Ali, thank you so much for your detailed instructions and beautiful photos, because they inspired me to purchase the Lloyds pan and make the most delicious pizza I have ever had! 

This was delicious. I made the sourdough version with my discard. I didn't use pickled jalapenos as I didn't know how it taste and was afraid my husband would not like them. 

The crust was soggy though. It could be because I used more sauce than called for since I used a bigger pan.

Is there a way to make the crust crispy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLb5qpheYw

In this video I make a yeast-leavened Detroit-style pizza topped two ways: one simply with cheese and pepperoni, and one with the addition of pickled jalapeños and a honey drizzle (which I forgot to add!). As is traditional with Detroit-style pizza dough, this one is high hydration, and it's topped generously with cheese and pepperoni. That said, compared to many Detroit pizza recipes out there, this one is not quite so excessive. 

Here are the volume equivalents for the weights given in the video: 

2 heaping cups bread flour
1.5 teaspoons salt 
1 teaspoon instant yeast, SAF is my preference
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water

Find the full recipe and many more notes here: https://alexandracooks.com/2021/08/13/detroit-style-pizza-two-ways-yeast-and-sourdough/

Here 's the recipe for the tomato sauce I've been making: https://alexandracooks.com/2021/06/15/quick-homemade-tomato-sauce-canned-tomatoes/

And here's the recipe for the pickled jalapeños: https://alexandracooks.com/2021/08/03/quick-pickled-jalapenos/

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