Detroit Pan Pizza
Square. Caramelized cheese frico edges. Sauce on top, the way the pizza gods intended.
Intro
The most underrated American pizza. Square, focaccia-like center, lacy fried-cheese edge (the "frico"), sauce on top. Brick cheese all the way to the rim is non-negotiable. Sauce-on-the-dough makes it gummy — apply after the bake, or in the last 2 minutes.
Ingredients
note · See the linked Detroit Pan Dough.
note · ½-inch cubes, pushed to the very edges of the pan.
note · See the linked Detroit Sauce.
note · Boar's Head Ezzo or Vermont Smoke & Cure work.
The process
- 1
Preheat
Preheat oven to 500°F with a steel on the lower rack.
⏱ Preheat60:00 - 2
Cube the cheese
Cut brick cheese into ½-inch cubes. Push them to the very edges of the pan — the cheese-touching-steel makes the frico.
- 3
Pepperoni
Optional but encouraged. Cup-and-char pepperoni layered between cheese and on top.
- 4
Bake
Bake on the steel for 12–14 minutes until edges are dark, deeply browned, almost burnt-looking.
✶ Pizzaiolo tip"Burnt-looking" cheese edges are the goal, not a mistake.⏱ Bake13:00 - 5
Release & sauce
Pull from oven. Run a knife around the edge to release. Drizzle three diagonal stripes of Detroit sauce on top.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipSauce on top, after the bake, is the rule. Sauce on the dough makes it gummy. - 6
Eat immediately
Cut into squares. Don't let it sit too long — the bottom steams if you do.
The gear used
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