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PizzaVeganintermediate

Detroit / Pan PizzaRecipe

Thick rectangular pan pizza with caramelized cheese edges.

pan bakedoiled panedge caramelthick crust

Last updated

About this ratio

Detroit pizza is the thick, rectangular pan pizza with the best edges in the business: cheese taken all the way to the walls of the pan so it melts against the hot metal and fries into a lacy, crunchy, caramelized crust the locals call frico. Underneath is a crisp fried bottom and an open, airy, almost focaccia-like interior. It is built in a pan, topped in a particular order, and forgiving enough for a confident beginner.

The dough runs wet — 76% hydration, much higher than New York's 65% — and that water is what produces the light, bubbly, focaccia-style crumb rather than a dense slab. There is a little oil (3%) in the dough, 2% salt, and 1% yeast for a reliable rise in the pan. Like focaccia, the defining fat is not in the ratio: the pan gets a generous coat of oil (a tablespoon or two, separate from the dough) so the bottom and edges fry rather than bake.

The order of toppings is the trick that makes it Detroit. Cheese goes directly on the dough and pushed all the way to the edges; sauce goes on top, traditionally in stripes added after baking or just before. That keeps the cheese in direct contact with the pan walls so it can caramelize into frico, and keeps the sauce from steaming the crust soft. A brick-style cheese (or a mix that browns well) is traditional because it crisps instead of just oozing.

Press the wet dough into the oiled pan, let it proof until puffy, top in that order, and bake hot until the edges are deep brown and crunchy. The corner pieces, all crust and frico, are the ones people fight over.

At a glance

At its default setting, this Detroit / Pan Pizza recipe makes a 10×14-inch pan — about 910g of dough in total. In baker's percentage that breaks down to 500g Bread flour (100%), 380g Water (76%), 10g Salt (2%), 5.0g Instant yeast (1%), and 15g Olive oil (3%). Change the pan size or enter a target dough weight in the calculator and every amount rescales to match, in grams or ounces.

Recommended hydration

65–75%

Gluten-free adaptation

Detroit-style is the EASIEST pizza format for GF because the high-edge pan does all the structural work — the dough doesn't need to support itself. Use a at 75% hydration with 5% . Spread into the oiled pan with wet hands. Proof, top, and bake exactly as the wheat version. Cheese-to-edge crust still works the same.

View as

Switch to scale a tested gluten-free version of this recipe. The calculator, ingredients, and nutrition all swap to the adapted formula; the underlying method tweaks appear above the wheat instructions.

Calorie-conscious

Switch to scale a leaner version of this recipe — the same bread with fats and sugar pulled to their lowest sensible amounts. The calculator, ingredients, and nutrition all update to the lean formula.

Make

Pan dimensions (in)

Pan dough weight scales by area. Pick a preset or punch in custom dimensions; the total dough weight updates instantly.

Display unit

Total dough

910g

  • 500gBread flour100% baker's
  • 380gWater76% baker's
  • 10gSalt2% baker's
  • 5.0gInstant yeast1% baker's
  • 15gOlive oil3% baker's

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Step-by-step method

How to bake this Detroit / Pan Pizza

Detroit pizza is what happens when you put pizza in a generously oiled steel pan, push the cheese to the very edges, and bake hot. The bottom fries in the oil; the cheese touches the pan and caramelizes into the signature dark crispy rim. Sauce goes on TOP after baking.

01

Mix

10 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Combine flour, warm water (~80°F / 27°C), salt, and yeast in a stand-mixer bowl. HOLD BACK the oil. The hydration is high (~75%); the dough will be wet and shaggy. Mix on low for 2 minutes just until no dry flour remains.
  2. 2.Rest 5 minutes. This quick fermentolyse (mix-then-rest with all ingredients — technically distinct from a true autolyse, which defers salt and yeast) lets the flour fully hydrate before the oil goes in. Gluten starts to form on its own.
  3. 3.Add the oil. Mix on low for 1 minute, then medium for 4–5 minutes until smooth. By hand: this is hard with a 75% dough; better to use the method during bulk instead — just mix oil in by hand for 30 seconds and rely on the folds.
02

Bulk fermentation

2 hours78°F / 25.5°C
  1. 1.Cover and rest. Do one at 30 and 60 minutes (2 sets total).
  2. 2.After the last fold, let rest until the dough has roughly doubled and is visibly bubbly.
03

Shape

5 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Pour 2–3 tablespoons of olive oil (or, traditionally, a more neutral oil) into a 10×14″ Detroit-style steel pan. Coat the bottom, corners, and sides.
  2. 2.Tip the dough into the pan and gently press it toward the edges. Don't fight it. Let it relax in the next stage.
04

Final proof

90 minutes78°F / 25.5°C
  1. 1.Cover loosely and let the dough relax. Halfway through, press the dough to the edges again. It should give freely now.
  2. 2.By the end, the dough should fill the pan corner-to-corner and be visibly puffy.
  3. 3.Preheat the oven to 500°F / 260°C during the last 30 minutes.
05

Bake

12–15 minutes500°F / 260°C
  1. 1.Top the dough with brick cheese or low-moisture mozzarella. Make sure cheese touches the pan edges on all four sides. This is where the caramelized rim comes from.
  2. 2.Add pepperoni or other toppings UNDER the cheese (not on top) so they don't burn.
  3. 3.Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are deep mahogany. Lift a corner with a spatula. The bottom should be deep golden and crisp.
  4. 4.After baking, drag stripes of pizza sauce across the top with a spoon. Yes, after.
  5. 5.Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then slide out onto a cutting board.

Detroit pans are seasoned blue steel for a reason. They release the caramelized cheese without sticking. A heavy nonstick rectangle works as a substitute; cast iron tends to grab.

Frequently asked

Questions about this recipe.

  • How do I scale this Detroit / Pan Pizza recipe to make more or fewer loaves?

    Use the calculator on this page. Adjust the output count or per-loaf weight; every ingredient amount updates automatically. You can also enter a total dough weight and the calculator works backwards. The Detroit / Pan Pizza recipe is written in baker's percentages, so it scales proportionally without changing the bread's character.

  • Can Detroit / Pan Pizza be made gluten-free?

    Yes — see the "Gluten-free adaptation" section on this page for specific ingredient swaps and method changes. The bread won't be identical to the wheat version, but a workable gluten-free version is possible.

More general questions about ratios, hydration, and the calculator on the FAQ page.

Background concepts

More Pizza breads