You’ve seen the photos. That thick, pillowy slab of dough with the charred, lacy cheese edges—what the obsessives call frico. Most people think the secret to a great Detroit-style pie is the cheese or the pan. They’re halfway right. But if you don't nail the detroit pizza dough recipe, you’re just eating a heavy, greasy loaf of bread.
It's about the hydration. Honestly, if your dough feels easy to handle, you're probably doing it wrong.
The High-Hydration Secret
Most home cooks are terrified of sticky dough. They keep adding flour until the ball is smooth and bouncy. Stop doing that. A real Detroit pizza dough recipe requires a hydration level of at least 70% to 75%. This means for every 100 grams of flour, you're using 70 to 75 grams of water.
Why? Steam.
When that wet dough hits a hot oven, the water evaporates rapidly, creating those massive, irregular air pockets that make the crust light despite being an inch thick. If the dough is too dry, it stays dense. It feels like a brick in your stomach. Nobody wants that. J. Kenji López-Alt, a guy who basically deconstructed this science for Serious Eats, has proven time and again that high hydration plus a long proof is the only way to get that signature "focaccia-like" interior.
Choosing the Right Flour
Don't just grab the all-purpose bag in the back of your pantry. You need strength. You need protein.
Bread flour is the baseline here. You want something with a protein content around 12.7% to 14%. King Arthur Bread Flour is a gold standard for a reason. The high protein creates a strong gluten network that can trap those gas bubbles. Without it, the dough collapses under the weight of the Wisconsin brick cheese and heavy sauce. Some people swear by "00" flour, but that's really meant for the blistering heat of a wood-fired Neapolitan oven. For a home oven at 500°F, bread flour is your best friend.
The Gear: More Than Just a Pan
You cannot make this in a glass baking dish. You just can't.
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The heat transfer is all wrong. To get the crust to "fry" in the bottom of the pan, you need blue steel or heavy-duty anodized aluminum. LloydPans is the name you’ll hear most often in pizza circles. Their pans are dark, which absorbs heat faster and more evenly than shiny metal. This is what creates that fried-bottom texture.
- The Pan: 10x14 inches is the classic size.
- The Oil: Don't be shy. Use a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. It’s not just for flavor; it’s the medium that fries the dough.
A Step-by-Step Detroit Pizza Dough Recipe
Let's get into the actual mechanics of it. This isn't a 30-minute meal. You need time.
The Mix
Combine 500g of bread flour, 360g of lukewarm water (about 72% hydration), 10g of fine sea salt, and 5g of instant yeast. Mix it until no dry flour remains. It will be shaggy. It will be a mess. Let it rest for 20 minutes—this is the autolyse phase, where the flour fully hydrates.
The Stretch and Fold
Instead of traditional kneading, which can be exhausting with wet dough, use the stretch and fold method. Wet your hands. Reach under the dough, pull it up, and fold it over itself. Do this four times, rotating the bowl. Repeat this every 30 minutes for two hours. You'll feel the dough transform from a puddle into a silky, strong web.
The First Rise
Cover the bowl. Let it sit at room temperature until it doubles in size. This usually takes about two hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If you're patient, put it in the fridge overnight. Cold fermentation develops flavors that a quick rise simply cannot touch. It breaks down complex starches into simple sugars, which helps with browning.
Panning and the Second Proof
This is where most people mess up their detroit pizza dough recipe.
Pour about two tablespoons of olive oil into your 10x14 LloydPan. Plop the dough in. Gently stretch it toward the corners. It won't go all the way. It’s going to fight you. It’s going to shrink back.
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Don't force it.
Cover the pan and walk away for 30 minutes. When you come back, the gluten will have relaxed, and you can easily push it into the corners. Now, let it rise in the pan for another hour or two. It should look bubbly and jiggly. If you poke it, the indentation should stay.
The Wisconsin Brick Cheese Factor
You can't talk about Detroit pizza without talking about Brick cheese. It’s a high-fat cheese from Wisconsin that has a mild, buttery flavor. Most importantly, it has a low melting point.
You need to cube it, not shred it. Small half-inch cubes.
Push the cubes all the way to the edge of the pan, touching the metal. As the pizza bakes, the cheese melts down the sides, caramelizing against the steel. This creates the "frico"—the dark, crunchy crown that defines the style. If you can't find Brick cheese, a 50/50 mix of low-moisture mozzarella and Monterey Jack is a decent substitute, but it’s not quite the same.
Baking and the "Racing Stripes"
Heat your oven as high as it will go—usually 500°F or 550°F. If you have a pizza stone or steel, put the pan directly on top of it. This maximizes bottom heat.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes. The cheese on the edges should look almost burnt. That’s flavor.
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The Sauce Goes Last.
Unlike a standard round pie, the sauce is applied in two or three thick "racing stripes" across the top after it comes out of the oven or during the last 5 minutes of baking. This keeps the crust from getting soggy. Use a thick, slightly sweet tomato sauce with plenty of oregano and garlic.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Too much yeast: It makes the dough taste like a brewery. Use just enough to get the job done.
- Cold dough: Never put cold dough straight into the oven. Let it reach room temperature in the pan so it rises properly.
- Over-topping: Detroit pizza is sturdy, but don't bury those air bubbles under two pounds of raw meat. Keep it balanced.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Bake
To truly master this, start a "pizza log." Write down your hydration percentage, the room temperature, and how long you proofed. Small changes make a big difference.
Next time you shop, look for King Arthur Bread Flour and Wisconsin Brick Cheese. If your local deli doesn't have the cheese, ask them to order a loaf of Widmer’s; it’s the gold standard.
Invest in a digital scale. Measuring flour by the cup is wildly inaccurate—you can end up with 20% more flour than intended just by how tightly you pack the scoop. Grams are the only way to ensure your 72% hydration stays 72%.
Finally, don't be afraid of the dark. That charred cheese edge isn't burnt; it's the best part of the pizza. If you pull it out too early, you're missing the entire point of the Detroit style. Let it get dark, let it get crispy, and let the dough sit for two minutes before you use a metal spatula to pry it out of the pan. This allows the steam to redistribute so the crust stays crunchy rather than becoming soft from the residual moisture.