Growing up in Western Pennsylvania and spending most of my adult life in New York City, Detroit-style pizza wasn’t even on my radar before 2020. Ironically, it took relocating to Bozeman, Montana, to finally discover it. During my four years there, the lengthy winters stretching from the beginning of November until the end of May often left me snowed in and completely bored. That abundance of downtime led me to happen upon a Detroit-style pizza article and recipe on Tasty.com by Kenji López-Alt, one of my absolute favorite recipe developers and cookbook authors. I vividly remember thinking, "Hmm, how on earth have I never heard of this before?"
The description immediately won me over, especially since I am a huge fan of pizzas boasting a thick, airy, and crispy high-hydration crust loaded with lots of cheese. Even though I had eaten Sicilian and Grandma-style pies while living in New York, their similarity to Detroit-style stops at the square shape. Without hesitation, I ordered the required LloydPans specialty baking pan (see below) from Amazon. Since brick cheese wasn't available in Bozeman and it cost a fortune in shipping charges to get to Montana, I followed Kenji’s advice and substituted a blend of mozzarella and Monterey Jack. The pan arrived a few days later, so I hosted a taste test for my close friends Pete and Kayla, who had never eaten it either. I baked the pizza on the floor of my electric oven at its highest temperature of 500 degrees F until the crust was brown and crispy, then finished it off under the broiler to let the cheese melt and cook the pizza through. I pulled it from the oven, all bubbly and brown, and the three of us admired it for a few minutes before devouring the entire thing in roughly 10 minutes. My obsession with Detroit pizza began right then and has not waned.
Detroit is universally known as the "Motor City," serving as the home base for automotive giants Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. However, the city's cultural impact goes far beyond vehicle production. It gifted the world Motown music, launching iconic legends like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and The Supremes. But, in my opinion, the absolute best thing Detroit ever gave us is its incredible square, thick-crust Detroit-style pizza, which has easily become one of my all-time favorite pizzas. Ever!
This culinary legend is believed to have originated in 1946 at an east-side neighborhood tavern known as Buddy's Rendezvous. It was there that Gus and Anna Guerra created the quintessential square, deep-dish masterpiece, characterized by its remarkably airy, thick, and crispy crust and luscious caramelized cheese border. In a stroke of industrial genius, they baked their signature dough by repurposing forged-steel pans sourced from nearby automotive manufacturers. Today, those commercial-grade baking pans are widely known as LloydPans.
The construction of a Detroit Style Pizza is uniquely "upside down," featuring substantial layers of pepperoni, but not just any pepperoni. Detroit-style pizza uses smaller, thicker slices that curl into miniature cups as they cook. These pepperoni cups hold onto their fat and enhance the pizza as they bake beneath the sauce and cheese. Spreading genuine Wisconsin brick cheese completely to the edges introduces a mild, sweet, creamy, and buttery profile with a semi-soft texture, gentle tang, and a bit of funk. During the baking process, this cheese melts directly against the pan's sides, creating a crispy, browned perimeter known as frico. Thanks to this distinct arrangement, the pizza achieves its iconic caramelized cheese crown and fried bottom, beautifully completed with signature stripes of warm tomato sauce.
To achieve the signature dark, crispy, and caramelized edges of an authentic Detroit-style pizza, intense and high-heat cooking at approximately 550°F to up to 700° F is essential. Because a standard home oven usually caps off at around 500°F, achieving this typically requires starting the pan on the lowest rack or oven floor before moving it to the top rack beneath a high broiler. This strategy allows the intense bottom heat to fry the crust in its own fat and brick cheese, while the robust top heat fully bakes the interior dough and prevents the toppings from turning pale and greasy. This demanding process explains why the Kalamazoo Artisan Outdoor Pizza Oven is perfectly suited for the task; its powerful, simultaneous top and bottom heat delivers a flawless pizza in about 10 minutes. By monitoring the ambient temperature with an oven thermometer, measuring the actual stone surface with an infrared thermometer, and making slight adjustments to the dials, preparing this delicious pizza becomes incredibly simple.
Did You Know- Brick Cheese
Wisconsin brick cheese is unique because of its brick-weighted pressing process, its hybrid cheddar-meets-limburger flavor, and its smear-ripened washed rind.
Unique Production and History
The Name: Invented in Wisconsin in 1877 by cheesemaker John Jossi, the cheese gets its literal name from the heavy clay or ceramic bricks originally used (and still used by traditional makers like Widmer's Cheese Cellars) to press moisture from the curd blocks.
The Process: It starts with a warm-cultured curd method similar to American cheddar, but uses a drier curd and a specialized shape.
Aging and Flavor Profile
Washed Rind: It is smear-ripened using Brevibacterium linens bacteria, the same family used in Limburger, but applied in lower amounts.
Age Variations: Young brick is sweet, mild, and nutty with a soft texture; aged brick develops a pungent, earthy, and tangy punch with a sticky rind.
Culinary Use
Pizza Staple: It is famous for being the ultimate cheese for Detroit-style pizza, melting into a rich, buttery layer with deeply caramelized, crispy edge crusts. It is also excellent melted on burgers, used in grilled cheese or added to baked macaroni and cheese.
