Joy the Baker

Zingerman’s Detroit-Style Pizza

by 50 Comments

One of the twenty seven reasons I need to get back to Detroit as soon as possible is – PIZZA.  

Bready baked, crisp edged, pepperoni dotted, cheese pulled, sweet and savory sauce – PIZZA.  

This version of city pizza is different from a Chicago deep dish or a New York slice.  Gloriously different.  I think of it as a lightly doughy, caramelized cheese bread topped with a sweet and herby tomato sauce. Basically the best version of a school lunch pizza.  No shade.  That’s a high compliment.  Pizza days in elementary school were a very big deal.  

It’s the weekend and consider this my submission for your Saturday night dinner plans. 

Even though I didn’t get a chance to have Detroit-style Pizza while I was actually in Detroit… I can try to work a pan pizza in my own oven.

Enter:  the new Zingerman’s Bakehouse cookbook – I can’t recommend this book enough.  I ran across this pizza recipe on my initial flip-through and it stopped me in my tracks.  This is the first of about a double dozen recipes I want to make from this sweet book.  

Here’s what you’ll need for this pizza.  I divided the Zingerman’s recipe in half to use a 8×8-inch square pan.  The regular recipe bakes up well in a 9×13-inch pan though traditionally we should all be using a Detroit-style pizza pan.  

•  Yeast, flour, salt, and water for the crust.

• Crushed tomatoes, garlic, dried herbs, and a hit of sugar for a homemade sauce.

•  Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheese for a crispy edge.  I didn’t have a brick cheese, traditional and expected for a Detroit-style pizzas, so I used another handful of mozzarella and everything turned out very pizza-y. 

•  Pepperoni if you’re into that sort of thing and I am very much. 

Start with active dry yeast in warm water.  Bring it to life.  Add a tiny pinch of sugar for extra security.  

Flour, plenty. 

We’ll quick stir the mixture with a spatula before kneading the dough with a dough hook for 4 minutes.  

Tight and relatively smooth.  Holds its shape, but just a little bit sticky.  

You’ll find the happy place. 

The dough rests in the bowl for 15 minutes before making its way into the pan.  Stretch to the edges and allow to rest and rise in place.  

While the dough rests we’ll simmer the sauce.  

Crushed canned tomatoes with dried basil and dried oregano.  

Sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.  

Fresh minced garlic + salt and pepper.  

Simmer until thickened.  For a very smooth sauce, blend with a immersion blender.  We’ll keep it warm while our pizza bakes. 

This is very good news. 

Can you see the light puff in the dough?  That’s right!

Shredded Parmesan cheese around the edges.  It will caramelize and create a golden crispy edge.  I’m telling you… you’ll be sprinkling Parmesan around the edges of everything after a few bites of this pizza. 

Straight on top of the dough:  pepperoni.  

And you guessed it – more cheese.  Mozzarella and brick cheese if you have it.  Mozzarella definitely and don’t skimp.  We’re making pizza bread. 

Yes, it looks right and good and like we can’t seem to get it in our faces fast enough.

Yes, we get to add bonus sauce to this cheese bread and call it pizza!

Two generous stripes and we better slice this up and get to business! 

The thing I like about you is that you don’t need much more convincing.  I feel like you just get me and you’re on your way to making this pizza if not pronto then likely tomorrow.  Good.  I like you.  We love pizza. 

These photos were made with Jon Melendez, then we ate a lot of pizza. 

Print

Zingerman’s Detroit Style Pizza

Double the dough portion of this recipe to make the pizza in a 9×13-inch pan!

  • Author: Zingerman's Bakehouse
  • Prep Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Scale

For the Crust

  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

For the Sauce

  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

For the Toppings

  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 8 slices pepperoni (optional)
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded brick cheese (or just use shredded mozzarella)
  • pinch of dried oregano
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 cup of the warm pizza sauce

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add water, salt, flour, and yeast. Use a spatula and quickly combine the mixture . Mix the dough using the dough hood on low speed for about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl early on in the mixing. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and work around the dough hook. If the dough feels too dry, add a splash of water. If it’s too wet, add a few more tablespoons of flour.
  2. Lightly grease a medium bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes and then shape the dough.
  3. To shape the dough, line a 8×8-inch with parchment paper and lightly grease.
  4. Place the dough in the pan and use your fingertips to spread the dough to the corners and lightly up the sides of the pan. The dough will be slightly sticky so dip your fingers in oil to make stretching easier. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour, until visibly puffed about 1/2 inch thick in the pan.
  5. While the dough is rising, make the sauce. To make the sauce in a small saucepan combine tomatoes, sugar, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and stir until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to break down the sauce more. (This step makes for a chunky/smooth sauce but isn’t entirely necessary. Keep the sauce warm for spooning over the pizza once it’s baked.
  6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  7. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese around the edge of the pizza where the dough touches the sides of the pan. This cheese will form a crispy caramelized edge on the crust. If desired, place pepperoni in two rows down the length of the pizza directly on top on the dough, pressing it in lightly.
  8. Sprinkle the mozzarella and brick cheese over the entire pizza, reaching up to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle with dried oregano and salt.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbling and an amber color and the edges look like they’re caramelizing.
  10. After removing the pizza from the oven, use a small offset spatula or knife to loosen the sides of the crust from the pan. Slide the pizza out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. At this point, if you’d like a more crisp bottom, place the pizza directly onto the oven rack and bake for an extra 5 minutes.
  11. Remove from the oven and top with the warm sauce. Traditionally it is ladled into two rows down the length of the pizza. Serve warm and enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rachel

    I know this is an older recipe but I feel compelled to comment because it’s a favorite at our house – we keep coming back to make it again. Our favorite twist is to add an unconscionable amount of chopped fresh garlic, some diced onions, and plenty of green olives before the cheese.

    Thank you Joy for sharing this one – it’s perfect!

    Reply

  2. Cindy

    Made this pizza tonight for dinner. It was the bomb!! My husband can’t stop raving about how good it was! The sauce was so good! Did not use all of it but it’s in freezer for the next pizza night!

    Reply

  3. Renee

    Gurl..you are this best. This recipe has become a staple in my home, and has been riffed on more ways than I can count. Doubling it up for an 8″ x 13″ pan for a party appetizer, adding sauce before making for a more traditional pizza, bacon, onions…ALL THE THINGS. The only twist is have done is add a tablespoon or 2 of sorghum syrup to slightly sweeten the sauce, adding a more violent contrast to the savory and rich cheese and crust. Your pizza completes me! Thank you!

    Reply

  4. Rachel

    I finally got around to making this. It is a good homemade version of Detroit style pizza, although I’m no expert in that subgenre of pizzas. Very easy to make. Plus you will want to make it again because the recipe for sauce leaves you enough for a second pie. I think if I were to make this again, I would cut it down to two tablespoons of sugar. It was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but my dinner guests loved it. Great change from the usual pizza fare without being weird.

    Reply

  5. Makenzie

    I made this for my Michigan fiance. It was literally the best pizza I’ve ever eaten. I’m never buying pizza sauce again!

    Reply

  6. Amanda

    I think this is a great recipe. It turned out perfectly the first time I made it, and I had never made my own dough from scratch before. Hand kneaded because I don’t have a Kitchen Aid and everything was fine! It was delicious and I’m glad to know delicious pizza can be made fairly simply at home–it’s not necessary to go out

    Reply

  7. Emily

    Hi, Joy! I was hoping you had some suggestions for making the dough by hand. I tried it last night and definitely went a little too long with the kneading. I have also never used a dough hook, so I have no idea how much time that equates to when you do it by hand.

    Reply

  8. John Tonge

    I grew up on Detroit’s east side. There were ten family owned pizza joints within walking distance. Each one had their own version of this type of pizza. Some had thinner crust, some used more cheese. Most had homemade sauce. They used a wonderful mixture of cheeses (not just mozzarella) different from each other that I still can’t duplicate. Crushed dried red peppers were on the table in a shaker with the salt and pepper in some places.

    Reply

  9. Grace

    Made this on Saturday at noon. Demolished it by myself by 2:00pm. So SO good. Next time you come to Philly, I recommend my favorite pizza place, Santuccis! Love your blog, Joy!

    Reply

  10. Kara

    I’ll never stop loving you, Joy! Let it be Sunday is a highlight of my reading, every week. And I made this pizza for dinner on Wednesday night (a recipe that I have everything on hand for will always be a win). My kids and husband loved it so much that when I said we weren’t going out for dinner tonight (we usually go out on Saturday night but. . .), and asked what I should make, both kids said “Detroit pizza!!” For these kids living in the Rocky Mountains it was a hit. So at this moment I’m making it for the second time in a week. That’s a winner, thank you!

    Reply

  11. Ashley

    I have now made this 2 Saturdays in a row! It is so, so good and unlike any pizza I have ever made or eaten before. I live in a fairly small community, and while our grocery store’s cheese department is pretty good, they do not carry brick cheese. I just asked for a hunk of Muenster cheese at the deli counter and shredded it with the mozzarella – Delicious! I would love to try the brick cheese but for those who don’t have it available to them, the Muenster is definitely a good substitute.

    Reply

  13. ashleym

    There’s a Detroit-style pizza place in Austin and it is fantastic! Via313. Love them so much!
    When i’m up for cooking again, I’ll try this. Thanks, Joy!

    Reply

  17. Paula Simmons

    Oh my goodness this sounds so delish! From one pizza lover to another, thank you for this gem! I will definitely be giving this recipe a go to satisfy my next cheesy pizza craving…which happens regularly! Simple yet divine…right up my alley! Thanks so much for sharing! I have never been to Detroit but might just have to make it a bucket list destination for the yummy pizza eats!

    Reply

  19. Ellen Moloney

    Aaron M: the sauce definitely goes on top AFTER the pizza is baked. The picture is correct. This is one of the unique features of Detroit style pizza. Joy, I think the hydration is incorrect on the dough. The Bakers Percentage should be around 70%. It’s a very sticky dough.

    Reply

  21. Amy

    Just bought all the ingredients to make this! I grew up in Michigan and Buddy’s lives on in my pizza dreams. Also, Jets for take out.
    Thanks so much for this recipe, Joy!

    Reply

    • Belle

      Buddy’s! I’ve lived in Texas for 30 years, but still dream of Buddy’s. This isn’t ‘detroit-style pizza’, this is just how pizza is supposed to be.

      Reply

      • Jes

        Oh my stars all I ever want is Jet’s pizza!!! I live in VA now, but whenever I am “home” I make sure to get some!!!

        Reply

  22. anne

    Can’t wait to try this! I relocated to the Northwest, where there is a severe shortage of what eastcoasters would call pizza! White sauce and bad crust abound.

    Ok, spill the beans! I have been counting the days until Zingerman’s cookbook is released. Yet, I see one on your counter in your photo???!!!! How did you snag one? Any other recipe in it catch your eye?

    Reply

  24. Sam

    I love your blog! Thank you for giving Detroit a shout-out!!! Funny, I have lived in the city of Detroit for most of my life and I would never think of Zingerman’s as Detroit–it’s an Ann Arbor spot to me. :-) I think of Detroit pizza as Buddy’s, (back in the day, Louie’s), and Shields. But if Zingermans is getting the word out, then more power to them! I hope you make it to Detroit soon, it’s an amazing place!!

    Reply

  26. Aaron M

    Just to be clear, Detroit style pizza usually doesn’t have the sauce on top.. Zingerman’s is definitely worth a stop or two, their sandwiches and breads are amazing.

    Reply

  27. Al

    Next summer… a Detroit Pizza tour? Bocce ball at Buddy’s the grand daddy of Detroit pizza, then Loui’s pizza, (the best) lesser known. h
    He was the architect of Detroit pizza.

    Reply

  28. Jayme Brown

    If and when you come back to Detroit, you HAVE to take some time to explore the surrounding areas so you can actually go to Ann Arbor and visit Zingerman’s. It’s a spiritual experience.

    Reply

  32. Marie at the Lazy W

    “No shade,” haha, love it!
    This looks so nice. Love the dough straight in the pan. Can’t wait to try, thank you! You always make cooking feel so sensual and chill.
    PS What the suggested music soundtrack this recipe? Was first thinking Kidd Rock per Detroit, but what do you say? xoxoxo

    Reply

  34. Greta

    morning! Your writing is fun and light and your posts so enjoyable. question: if i double the dough recipe for 13×9 pan, will the cheese and other ingredients as written be enough? thanks. mouth watering.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll Up