I don’t think there’s a more indulgent pizza than the one that comes from Motor City. Like the muscle cars of old, this Detroit Style pizza recipe roars (with flavor) while burning up lots of high octane fuel (calories). But just like one of those lovely classic muscle cars, the indulgence of Detroit’s own pizza really is worth the cost. Just don’t make this your daily driver!

The Birth of a Legend
To truly appreciate this Detroit Style pizza recipe, we need to go back to its roots. Originating in the post-World War II era, it was born out of resourcefulness and innovation. Workers in Detroit’s booming automotive factories needed hearty, filling meals. Just like pizza’s origins in Naples! And, pizza has historically been an affordable (and versatile) option for the working class. The iconic square shape is apparently a nod to the industrial parts trays once used as makeshift baking pans in the absence of traditional pizza trays.

Per Wikipedia, the Detroit-style pizza was first seen at Buddy’s Rendezvous in 1946. Buddy’s was opened in 1936 by Gus and Anna Guerra as a “blind pig” – meaning it was a prohibition-era speakeasy. Now, Buddy’s is known as Buddy’s Pizzeria and is an independent restaurant chain.
Under the Hood of Detroit Style Pizza

As a relative new comer in the world of pizza, Detroit Style Pizza borrows its roots from older traditions. It’s a deep-dish airy-crust pizza like a Sicilian, but with a few twists. Unlike other styles, the cheese (traditionally Wisconsin brick cheese often mixed with white cheddar) goes right up to the edges, caramelizing beautifully against the pan for a crispy, cheesy border that’s simply irresistible.
The sauce, another defining feature, is ladled on top of the cheese in bold, red stripes. This method, known as “racing stripes” (what could be more motor city??), means the sauce remains vibrant and distinct, rather than melding into the crust and cheese – many bites won’t have any sauce at all.
As with any pizza, toppings are various – and often generous – and probably including pepperoni, which curls up into delightful little “roni cups” or “grease chalices” as it cooks. On the other hand, Detroit style recipes often don’t add any additional toppings both to keep each bite as airy as possible – but also because this pizza really doesn’t need any.
How to Make Detroit Style Pizza
While almost all varieties of pizza are different spins on dough, sauce, and cheese, the standard Detroit style pizza recipe adds something unique to all three.
Making Detroit Style Pizza Crust
There’s a few sources out there for how to make Motor City’s prized pizza crust, but after having a slice at his restaurant Slice House and then tried his recipe from the Pizza Bible, I’ve taken my inspiration from Tony Gemignani. I wouldn’t quite call this a copy-cat recipe, but I do use my copy-cat version of his dough recipe, which we wrote about here.
The Detroit Pizza Pan
A hallmark of the Detroit pizza is the pizza pan. Although apparently getting its roots from an automotive parts pan, today’s “standard” is a 10″ by 14″ black steel pan. Lloyds Pans seems to make today’s favored pan. You can find it on Amazon here for about $60.
Ooni also makes a great Detroit pan (with a lid!) also for $60.

However, you might also notice that this pan looks very much like a typical cake pan. Practically speaking, the biggest differences are the size (a cake pan is typically 9″ by 13″) and cake pans often have a non-stick coating.

Even if you don’t have a cake pan, any tall-edge pan will allow you to make this pizza.
Because not everyone is going to choose to shell out $60 for a pan with only one use, we’re going to make this recipe based upon the standard cake pan. If in fact you do have a 10″ x 14″ pan, you’ll need about 15% more of everything. I’ve included the ratios in the notes at the end of the recipe card.
What You Need to Make This Detroit Style Pizza Recipe

- Pizza pan (in this recipe, we will use a standard 9″ x 13″ cake pan)
- 20 ounces of pizza dough (I recommend referring to our copy-cat version of Tony Gemignani’s Master Dough recipe)
- 1 tablespoon of salted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
- Detroit pizza sauce (instructions below):
- 11 ounces of canned pureed high-quality tomatoes
- 4 ounces of canned tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 generous pinch of flaked sea salt
- 1 generous pinch of dried oregano
- Cheese:
- 2 cups of Wisconsin Brick cheese (or Munster as a substitute)
- 1.5 cups of white cheddar cheese
- Additional toppings as garnish after cooking (use to your taste):
- 18 slices of Pepperoni (optional)
- Dried oregano
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
How to Prepare this Detroit Style Pizza Recipe
Preparing Detroit Style Pizza Crust
As discussed, I’ve used our take on Tony Gemignani’s Master Dough recipe for this Detroit style pizza crust recipe. You could also substitute our Sicilian dough or Roman dough. But because this crust requires a dough that rises a lot, it’s quite different than a Neapolitan dough.
- For a 13″ x 9″ pizza pan, I recommend using 20 ounces of the Master Dough pizza dough (1.25 lbs.). If you’ve used our recipe, the dough will be coming from the refrigerator after 1 or 2 days of cold proofing. Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for one hour.
- After the 1 hour is up, take 1 tablespoon of cold butter and smear the inside of the cake pan – use your fingers to smear the entire pan, including all the way up the sides (this is important). Although most bakers suggest using unsalted butter, I have found the crust tastes better with salted butter.
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the center of the pan.
- Gently tip the dough into the center of the pan.
- Gently lift and flip the dough to coat the dough in olive oil.
- Using your fingers, “piano” the dough to spread it from the center of the dough towards the edges and corners. It won’t cover the pan and it will spring back a bit – that’s okay. Don’t over work the dough trying to stretch it too much.
- Let the dough rest uncovered in a relatively warm place in the kitchen for 1 hour (about 80 degrees is optimal). If your kitchen is warmer or cooler, it will change the total proofing time.
- After that 1 hour, again piano the dough to spread it to the edges and corners. Be even more gentle and again, don’t overwork the dough. Even if it doesn’t extend to the corners, the pizza will still be great. It’s more important that you don’t let all of the gasses out of the dough.
- Let the dough rest again for another 1.5 hours. The dough should continue to grow and fluff up to fill the pan this time.
- When there are 30 minutes left in this last proofing step (i.e. it’s been proofing 1 hour), turn on the oven to 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone or a pizza steel, put them in before preheating the oven.
- Now you can grate the cheese:
- 2 cups of Wisconsin Brick cheese (or Munster)
- 1.5 cups of white cheddar cheese
- Now make the Detroit Pizza Sauce, as described below.
Detroit Pizza Sauce Recipe
Because it uses both tomato paste and tomato sauce, Detroit pizza sauce is quite thick and tangy often with plenty of oregano. We enjoy making extra sauce to dip the pizza in since most bites of pizza actually won’t have any sauce.
How to Make Detroit Style Pizza Sauce
- Open the can of crushed tomatoes. Use a spoon to check if they are crushed very fine and smooth: if so, then you don’t need to blend them. If they are chunky or you are using whole peeled tomatoes, you’ll want to blend the sauce.
- Mix the ingredients in a sauce pan:
- 14 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 4 oz. (1/2 cup) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 generous (3-finger) pinch of dried oregano
- 1 regular pinch of fine sea salt (to taste)
- Just before putting the pizza in the oven the second time, begin to simmer the sauce at low heat.
Cooking Detroit Style Pizza
With the oven all the way up to 500, the dough fully proofed, cheese grated, and the sauce ready – you’re ready to bake.
- Insert the pizza dough & pan in the oven. If you have a pizza stone or pizza steel, put the pan directly on it.
- Cook for 6 minutes
- Remove the pizza pan from the oven and set on top or on a wooden cutting board.
- Sprinkle the white cheddar cheese around the outside of the pizza and up against the edges of the pan. The cheddar will essentially melt against the edge of the pan and some will run behind the dough when it goes back in the oven.

- Next sprinkle the Brick (or Munster) cheese over the rest of the top of the pizza trying to cover all of the visible dough evenly.

- Rotate the pizza 180 degrees from how it came out of the oven and place it back in the oven on the oven rack.
- Cook for 7 minutes and begin to simmer the pizza sauce. If you are going to add pepperoni, get it out and ready.
- Remove the pizza from the oven again.
- If you are adding Pepperoni, distribute it in three rows along the long-side of the pizza (both edges and the middle).
- Use soup spoon and place the pizza sauce in two long stripes along the length of the pizza. Depending on how much sauce you like, you can use more or less sauce, but a good guideline is to make 1″ wide “racing stripes” of sauce between the pepperoni.

- Again, rotate the pizza pan and return the pizza to the oven (on the pizza stone again, if you have one).
- Cook for 5 more minutes and then turn off the oven. Check the top of the pizza. If it’s still yellow or lightly brown, you can leave the pizza in the oven for another 2-3 minutes with the temperature off.
- Once the cheese is starting to brown, remove the pizza pan from the oven.
- While the cheese is still bubbling and hot, use a plastic spatula to separate the pizza from the pan. Once the spatula can go around the entire pizza, use the spatula to lift and slide it out of the pan onto a large cutting board. As the cheese cools, it will harden and make the pizza much harder to remove – so do this step quickly.
- Allow the pizza to rest for about 3-5 minutes so that the cheese can harden before cutting. While waiting, put the extra sauce into ramekins or bowls for dipping.
- Cut the pizza into slices or squares.
- Add additional Oregano and grated Pecorino cheese to taste.

Tips and Tricks for Detroit Style Pizza
- Without question, the most important tip with this pizza is to get it out of the pan before the cheese hardens to the sides. That means having a cutting board and your spatula ready! If you’re using a non-stick cake pan, you will want to use a plastic spatula to prevent permanent scratches in the pan.
- Once the pizza is out of the pan, give it time for the cheese to firm up before cutting.
- Since Wisconsin Brick cheese is not found everywhere, we’ve found Munster to be a good alternative.
- When warming up the sauce, you don’t want to “cook it” in the skillet. Just warm it up. Keep it warm until the pizza is finished and put out the extra sauce as a dip!
- Pepperoni is totally optional, making this an easy vegetarian option.
- To make a Vegan Detroit Style Pizza, you’ll need to substitute the butter with a high-heat oil applied liberally to the pan. The downside is that the oil won’t cling to the pan as well as butter. You’ll also want to change to vegan cheeses. Try using cashew milk mozzarella (or any very-melty cheese) in place of the Brick and Reine’s Vegan Cuisine Sharp Cheddar Nut Cheese for the edges.
Detroit Style Pizza Calories
There’s no getting around it. This pizza is high-octane and fully leaded. Sharing this pizza with 4 people is 854 calories per person (with pepperoni)! And there are a lot of carbs and a lot of fat. This pizza is actually a great choice to use as an appetizer. We like to cut it into 14 or 16 small pieces and serve it as finger food at a party. Especially with some extra sauce for dipping!

Detroit Style Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 13" x 9" Cake Pan
- 1 Sauce Pan
- 1 Pizza Scissors (Optional)
- 1 Blender (only required if the canned tomatoes are chunky)
Ingredients
- 20 ounces Pizza dough (recommend our copy-cat version of Tony Gemignani’s Master Dough recipe but you can use another bread flour based recipe)
- 1 tablespoon salted butter (unsalted if you prefer)
- ½ tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
Detroit Pizza Sauce
- 11 ounces tomato sauce crushed or pureed (use a high quality brand)
- 4 ounces tomato paste (use a high quality brand)
- 1 pinch oregano dried
- ¼ cup basil leaves fresh, chopped (or 2 teaspoons of dried)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil extra virgin
Detroit Pizza Cheese
- 2 cups Wisconsin Brick cheese grated (Munster is a suitable alternative)
- 1.5 cups white cheddar cheese grated
Additional Toppings
- 18 slices Pepperoni (mini cups preferred)
- 1 tablespoon Pecorino cheese grated (adjust to taste)
- 1 pinch oregano dried
Instructions
Preparing the Dough
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up for 1 to 2 hours on the countertop.
- Using the cold butter in your fingers, rub it over the entire surface of the cake pan. It will melt as you work it and use your fingers to make sure that it completely covers the bottom and the sides of the pan all the way to the top.
- Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil into the center of the pan on top of the butter.
- Place the covered pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours (up to 48 hours).
- Invert the container with the dough and allow the dough to gently fall into the center of the pan. The dough will be a bit sticky, so use a wetted spatula or dough scraper if it does not completely come away by itself.
- Gently flip the dough over so both sides are oiled.
First Stretch
- Gently using the fingers of both hands, press the dough outward (not pulling) to stretch the dough towards the edges of the baking sheet. The dough won’t likely get all the way to the edges this first time. Don’t tear the dough trying to get to the edges, but try to get it about the right shape of the pan.
- Let the dough rest uncovered in a warm space away from any draft for 30 minutes. The dough will contract initially but it will also start expanding.
Second Stretch
- Oil your fingers and gently “pillow” (press like you’re playing the piano) the dough to cover the entire pan. Try to preserve the airy texture but also trying to get the dough evenly distributed across the pan. It will still likely not reach the corners completely.
- Let the dough rest uncovered again in a warm space, away from any draft for 90 minutes. The dough should rise to the edge of the pan and fill the bottom entirely now. Even if it doesn't, do not stretch or press the dough again.
- Preheat your oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone big enough, you can cook the pizza in the pan on top of the pizza stone.
- Prepare your toppings: grate the cheese, pull out the pepperoni (if you're using it), and prepare the sauce.
Making Detroit Pizza Sauce
- If your crushed tomatoes are chunky, you will want to blend them before the next step.
- Combine the pizza sauce ingredients in a sauce pan: crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, oregano, sea salt.
- Stir the sauce thoroughly.
- When the pizza goes into the oven (next step), begin to warm the sauce at low heat.
Cooking the Detroit Pizza
- Place the pizza pan in the oven. If you have a pizza stone, place the pan on the stone. Cook for 6 minutes.
- While the pizza is cooking, begin warming the sauce (as per above).
- Remove the pizza pan from the oven and place on top of the stove or on a large wooden cutting board.
- Distribute the cheddar cheese around the edge of the pizza so that it's touching the edge of the pan. The cheese is supposed to melt down the sides.
- Distribute the Brick (or Munster) cheese over the top of the rest of the pizza.
- Rotate the pan 180° and return it to the oven. Do not place it on the pizza stone. Cook for 7 minutes.
- Remove the pizza from the oven.
- Add the pepperoni (if you are using it) in three rows lengthwise across the pizza.
- Using a soup spoon, make 2 "racing stripes" of sauce lengthwise across the pizza (between the rows of pepperoni).
- Rotate the pizza pan 180° and return it to the oven back on the pizza stone. Bake for another 5 minutes and turn off the oven.
- When the top of the crust is golden and the cheese is browning, remove the pan and quickly use a plastic spatula to separate the pizza from the pan. Once the spatula can go around the entire pizza, use the spatula to lift and slide it out of the pan onto a large cutting board.
- Allow the pizza to rest for about 3-5 minutes so that the cheese can harden before cutting.
- While waiting, put the extra sauce into ramekins or bowls for dipping.
- Cut the pizza into slices or squares.
- Add additional Oregano and grated Pecorino cheese to taste.
Notes
Nutrition

Todd’s cooking skills have revolved around the grill since about age 12, when he developed a love for grilling and took over for Mom at the BBQ. He worked at Wendy’s and at Earl’s Tin Palace (a restaurant chain in Canada) but never really did any sort of baking…until he and Heather started making pizza together! Now he’s often making dough in the mornings and pizza in the evenings.