American
Detroit-Style Pizza
Airy focaccia-like crumb, crispy frico cheese edges, sauce on top — the most addictive crust in America.
Recipe by Cyman Huang
Cooked, styled and photographed in his kitchen.
Detroit-style pizza was born at Buddy's Restaurant in Detroit in 1946, invented by Gus Guerra using his wife's Sicilian dough recipe in blue steel automotive drip pans.
The liberally oiled pan produces a bottom crust that fries as it bakes. The truly distinctive feature is the frico edge: cheese pressed all the way to the pan walls caramelizes into a crackling, deeply savory crust. The sauce goes on top after baking, in two or three stripes.
Watch it come together
Ingredients
For the Detroit dough (high-hydration)
- 3 cups (400g) bread flour
- 1½ tsp instant yeast
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1¾ cups (420ml) warm water (about 75°F)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the pan & cheese
- 3 tbsp neutral oil (for the pan)
- 8 oz whole-milk mozzarella, cut into small cubes
- 4 oz white cheddar or brick cheese, cubed
- Pepperoni (optional, place under the cheese for crispy cups)
For the sauce (applied after baking)
- 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
Method
- 1
MAKE DOUGH: Combine flour, yeast and salt, then add warm water and olive oil. Mix to a wet, sticky dough — much wetter than typical pizza dough. Cover and rise at room temperature until doubled, 2–3 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
- 2
MAKE SAUCE: Heat olive oil, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, sugar and salt. Simmer 15 minutes and set aside.
- 3
PREP THE PAN: Pour 3 tablespoons of neutral oil into a 9x13-inch metal baking pan (not non-stick) and spread it over the bottom and up the sides.
- 4
PROOF IN PAN: Transfer the dough to the pan and dimple it toward the edges. If it won't reach, rest 30 minutes covered, then press again until it fills the pan, about ¾-inch thick.
- 5
PREHEAT oven to 500°F (or as high as possible).
- 6
APPLY CHEESE: Scatter cubed mozzarella and cheddar evenly, pressing pieces all the way to the edges and corners — this edge cheese creates the frico crust. Pepperoni, if using, goes on the dough first.
- 7
BAKE 18–22 minutes until the cheese is deeply golden and the edges are caramelized and crackling against the pan.
- 8
SAUCE & SERVE: Immediately spoon the warm sauce in two or three parallel stripes across the top. Rest 5 minutes, then cut into rectangles.
Substitutions
- Chef's Tip: The sauce goes on after baking, not before. That keeps it fresh and bright against the richness of the caramelized cheese — the main reason Detroit-style is so distinctive.
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