... you'll love Detroit-style pizza.
My introduction to Detroit-style pizza came not by way of Detroit's legendary Buddy's Pizza, but rather from Matt and Emily Hyland, the couple behind Pizza Loves Emily, whose New Haven-style pizzas are near and dear to my heart, and whose Emmy Squared slices now follow close behind.
It all began one Friday evening at the height of the lockdown last year. Longing to eat something from beyond my 5-mile radius, I splurged on a trio of pizzas from Emmy Squared via GoldBelly.
The small rectangular pies topped variously with everything from pickled jalapeños and banana peppers to Calabrian chilies and smoked gouda each accompanied with little tubs of side sauces, squeeze bottles of dressings, and tiny tubes of honey transported us to what felt like a faraway land.
It was a blast.
The experience sent me on a Detroit-style pizza-making bender, a journey I never imagined taking. If you've been reading here for a while, you know I love my Neapolitan-style pizzas (such as this one or this one), which couldn't be more different in spirit than Detroit-style pizzas.
If Neapolitan pizzas adhere to a less-is-more approach, Detroit-style pizzas lean toward a more-is-more path: they're thick and cheesy with a charred, oily crust.
Typically, this is not the type of food I am most drawn to, but my Emmy Squared takeout dinner showed me that Detroit-style pizza need not be heavy. The dough in fact should be quite light and airy, not unlike focaccia.
After this Emmy Squared takeout dinner, I found myself determined to make this style of pizza at home for two reasons: one because it was delicious, but two because it seemed easy: I loved the idea of making one large pizza in one vessel, presenting it to the family, and then: turning the oven off! (I've gotten used to never sitting on pizza night.)
Friends, guess what? Having Detroit-style pizza in the dinner rotation is as dreamy as imagined. Making one and only one pizza that feeds my entire family is life-changing. (Turns out: I like sitting!)
But can I tell you my favorite part about making this style of pizza? You can assemble it days in advance. I have mixed up the dough on a Wednesday, transferred it to its baking pan, and tucked it in the fridge until Friday! On baking day, I simply remove the pan, top it, and throw it in the oven. It feels like a miracle.
This recipe includes both a yeast-leavened and a sourdough-leavened Detroit-style pizza dough with two topping options: one with sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, the other with the addition of pickled jalapeños and honey, inspired by "The Colony" served at Emmy Squared.
Of course, you can top your pizzas as you wish. The key to finding success with Detroit-style pizza at home, as with so many things, is balance. For me, finding the right balance meant topping the pizzas a little more minimally than many of the recipes I found across the web.
And finding ultimate success with this style of pizza came down to borrowing techniques from various sources, most notably from Matt and Emily Hyland (both from their book and a virtual cooking class I attended) and Wes Pikula of Buddy's in Detroit (from this Pizza City USA podcast episode).
Get the recipe and watch the video here:
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