With Festive Red and Green Stripes!
Who says holiday food is all about cookies and pies? I’m not all that much of a dessert guy myself, so this year, I opted to bring the festive cheer with a Holiday edition Detroit-style pizza that looks like it belongs in a holiday lights display—red and green stripes included!
Detroit, Christmas & Chanukah
If you know my articles, I always try to provide some fun information about how the history of our featured recipe. In this case, the recipe is completely made up by me to try to capture the holiday season. So, rather than completely repeating the history of Detroit pizza, which I have also written on, let’s talk about the Holiday Season in Detroit! Here are some fun facts:
1. Christmas at the Ford Rotunda
In the 1950s, the Ford Rotunda was a premier destination for holiday celebrations in Metro Detroit. Originally designed by Albert Kahn for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, the Rotunda was relocated to Dearborn and became a showcase for Ford’s innovations. During the holiday season, it transformed into a winter wonderland with the annual “Christmas Fantasy,” featuring elaborate decorations, a 35-foot-tall Christmas tree adorned with thousands of lights, and festive exhibits that attracted millions of visitors until its unfortunate destruction by fire in 1962. Read More: The Henry Ford
2. Detroit’s Municipal Christmas Tree
A giant decorated pine tree has been a hallmark of the holidays in Detroit for over 100 years. The first municipal Christmas tree was decorated and lit in 1913 in front of the old city hall. Over the years, the tree has been displayed in various locations, including Kennedy Square and Hart Plaza, symbolizing the city’s enduring holiday spirit. Read More: Hour Detroit
3. Menorah in the D
Detroit’s largest Chanukah event, “Menorah in the D,” is a festive celebration featuring a giant menorah lighting, Chanukah games, food, Chanukah gelt, and a fire show. Held annually in Campus Martius, it brings together diverse communities to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Read More: Visit Detroit
4. Holiday Pop-Up Bars
For those looking to get into the holiday spirit, Detroit hosts several holiday-themed pop-up bars, such as Sippin’ Santa at The Skip, Blitzen’s on Bagley, and The Hideaway at Bandit in Royal Oak. Each spot offers unique holiday cocktails and festive experiences to enjoy with friends. Read More: Metro Times
Time to Get the Engine Started
How to Make Detroit-Style Pizza Dough
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.
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)
- 20-22 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
- Pesto sauce (homemade or pre-made)
- Cheese:
- 2 cups of Wisconsin Brick cheese (or Munster as a substitute)
- 1.5 cups of white cheddar cheese
- Optional additional toppings as garnish after cooking (use to your taste):
- Unsalted pistachios or pine nuts (to match your pesto)
- Dried oregano
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
How to Prepare Our Holiday Edition Detroit-Style Pizza
Preparing Detroit Style Pizza Crust: Tony Gemignani Master Dough Recipe
As discussed, I’ve used our take on the Tony Gemignani 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 20-22 ounces of the Master Dough pizza dough (about 600 grams or 1 1/3 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 1 hour.
- Check the Tips and Tricks section below for ways to speed this up!
- 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 at least 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.
How to Make Fresh Pistachio Pesto:
Creating fresh pistachio pesto is simple and gives you the option to tweak it the way you want. We make it with fresh basil from the garden, and it’s unbeatable! It does take a bit of time to separate enough basil leaves from the stems.
I really love A Food Lover’s Kitchen‘s pistachio pesto recipe.
The instructions are in the recipe card below, but you can read more on our Pistachio Pesto Pizza page.
Cooking Holiday Edition Detroit-Style Pizza
With the oven all the way up to 500F, 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.
- 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”.
- Repeat with the pesto down the center.
- Sprinkle the nuts over the pesto. Look at those holiday colors on your pizza!
- 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.
- It’s pretty common for some of the oil to separate out from the pesto. I tear a couple of small pieces of paper towel and soak up the extra oil before cutting & serving.
- Cut the pizza into slices or squares. To keep the stripes from smearing, it’s better to use a rocker to cut the pizza than a wheel.
I’m Not Christian – Got Any Suggestions for an Alternative?
Of course not everyone is celebrating Christmas. Here are some topping alternatives you might fancy for a Holiday Edition Detroit-Style pizza for your own faith:
Options For a Chanukah-inspired Detroit-style pizza:
- Tahini Drizzle: Add a drizzle of tahini sauce for a nutty, creamy flavor after baking.
- Cranberry Sauce: Small dollops of tart cranberry sauce could add a fun twist.
- Goat Cheese or Feta: Crumble these cheeses for a tangy, creamy contrast.
- Crispy Zucchini or Eggplant Chips: Slice zucchini or eggplant thinly, fry until golden, and add as a topping the same way a traditional Detroit uses pepperoni.
- Shredded Potatoes: Par-cook shredded potatoes and scatter them on top for a crispy latke-inspired crunch.
Options For a Detroit-style pizza inspired by Muslim traditions:
- Tikka Masala: Check out our Pizza Tikka Masala!
- Harissa Tomato Sauce: Add a spicy North African kick by blending harissa paste into your tomato sauce.
- Yogurt-Based Sauce: Use a drizzle of garlic yogurt or tzatziki sauce post-bake for a cool, tangy contrast.
- Tahini Sauce: Drizzle tahini for a nutty, creamy finish that pairs well with spiced meats and veggies.
Have any other suggestions? Please email me your ideas!
Tips & Tricks for Holiday Edition Detroit-Style Pizza
- To speed things up, you can make this dough without doing the cold-proofing. Try using our Easy Peasy dough recipe. It will still take a couple of hours to rise and fill the pan.
- You can also use Trader Joe’s pre-made dough. I recommend using a little extra (24-26 ounces) and let it proof at room temperature for 12-24 hours (it will depend a bit on how fresh it is and you’ll have to watch and cook once it’s filled the pan).
- Detroit-style pizza works very well when parbaked – meaning you can do the first cook of 7 minutes and then set the pizza aside for later – or even refrigerate it and cook it the next day!
- Our Holiday Edition Detroit-Style pizza is perfect for a sharing appetizer to start of a festive party!
Holiday Edition Detroit-Style Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 13" x 9" Cake Pan
- 1 Sauce Pan
- 1 Pizza Rocker (Optional)
- 1 Blender (only required if the canned tomatoes are chunky and/or if you're making your own basil)
Ingredients
- 21 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
Pistachio Pesto (You can use pre-made or make it yourself – this makes 6 ounces)
- 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup unsalted pistachios shelled (optional to use pine nuts)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 clove garlic or more to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil preferably extra virgin
- 2 tsp lemon juice fresh squeezed
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Detroit Pizza Cheese
- 2 cups Wisconsin Brick cheese grated (Munster is a suitable alternative)
- 1.5 cups white cheddar cheese grated
Additional Toppings
- 2 ounces Pesto from the recipe above.
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Pistachios shelled (or use pine nuts if you are using pine nut pesto)
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, prepare the sauce, and pesto.
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, basil, and sea salt.
- Stir the sauce thoroughly.
- When the pizza goes into the oven (next step), begin to warm the sauce at low heat.
Making fresh pistachio pesto
- Chop the pistachios: In a food processor, start off with the pistachio so that they have extra time to chop before adding the other ingredients. This will prevent the nuts from clumping too soon. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.
- Add the basil leaves, grated Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Blend the ingredients – they will start to clump.
- Add the Olive Oil: With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Don't add more than you need, as it can separate out on the pizza.
- You can add additional salt, and pepper to taste. Blend once more to combine all the flavors.
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.
- Using a soup spoon, make 2 "racing stripes" of sauce lengthwise across the pizza (between the rows of pepperoni).
- Repeat to make the pesto stripe.
- Sprinkle the nuts on the pesto.
- 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.
- If a lot of oil has separated from the pesto, dab it up with a small piece of paper towel.
- While waiting, put the extra sauces into ramekins or bowls for dipping.
- Cut the pizza into slices or squares.
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.