I’m excited to share with you my favorite deep dish pizza recipe, Detroit Style Deep Dish Pizza. This deep dish is truly like no other, the cheese melts into the crust becoming one in a crunchy, flavor packed crust that makes the crust the star of the show. But not to be left out, the sauce and toppings on a Detroit style pizza are arranged a little different than what you’re used to in pizza – with the cheese and toppings going on first and a chunky red sauce layered on the top. And in this case different = delicious!

I love watching cooking shows (The Kitchen on Food Network is one of my favorites right now) and I love to be inspired by them. A year or so ago, I was watching an episode of The Kitchen where they made Detroit Style Pizza, something that looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen (or rather ate) it before. It looked delicious and oddly familiar, even though I have never been to Detroit and had never made this style of pizza before. I was racking my brain as to why this looked so familiar and finally it came to me.

Detroit Style Inspiration – Straight from Maui?

Yes drawing inspiration for a Detroit style pizza from the tropical oasis of Maui might sound a little odd but I have been eating this kind of pizza since I was a little girl when my family would vacation to Maui we’d goto a pizza spot in Lahaina called BJ’s Pizza (it is now Lahaina pizza company). Located right on Front Street in Lahaina, it’s been a family favorite for 20+ years where you can get great pizza and take in the beautiful Maui sunset at the same time.

So between being inspired by The Kitchen and reconnecting with childhood memories, I created my own twist of the two and I’m excited to share it with you.

Putting oil in the deep “cake type” pan allows the pillowy dough to fry just right with the cubes of mozzarella and jack cheese that are lining the rim. We like to keep it simple at home, with pepperoni and cheese, but feel free to add your own topping favs. This pizza is so good the first bite you will be hooked and you’ll be going back for more, I promise.

The Sauce

The red sauce is a bit chunky, with delicious big chunks of tomatoes, making each bite of this pizza unique with different flavors.

One bite might have a delicious tomato with deep flavor while another features pepperoni and mozzarella, with the Jack cheese giving a punch of additional flavor. Overall this pizza has an amazing balance of flavor that makes it a favorite dinner in our family.

Detroit Style Deep Dish Pizza

Author: Jill Sharpe
Total Time: 35
Yield: Two 9” Pizzas 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

Dough:

2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 shy cup warm water

Pizza Sauce:

28 ounce can crushed fire roasted tomato
1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano

Pizza Toppings:

12 ounces mozzarella cheese block
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese block
3/4 cup Organic Valley Pepperoni

You’ll also need a good high heat oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil to oil the pan and bowl.

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Instructions

Add flour, yeast and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to blend.
Turn on food processor and slowly add the water. Keep processing until a ball forms and then keep going for 30 seconds more.
Take out of the bowl and shape into a round ball of dough. Place dough into an oiled bowl and turn dough to coat in the oil. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest for 1 1/2 hours. (You can make ahead and keep in the fridge overnight, just allow to come to room temp before you work with it).
Meanwhile, add the tomatoes to a medium pot with remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium/high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
Once the dough has risen, remove any lower racks in your oven to open up space to put your pizzas on the very bottom of your oven. This is the key to get the dough crisp and delicious!
Pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees.
Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of oil into each 9 inch cake pan and rub all around the bottoms and sides.
Divide your dough in half and place each half in a cake pan. With your fingers knead the dough out towards the edges, let rest 10 min. Meanwhile, cut your cheese into 1/2 inch cubes.
After your dough has rested, stretch it out so it reaches the edges of the pan. (The dough should all be of equal thickness, not a thicker rim). Place your pepperoni all around or any other toppings you choose. Take several cheese cubes and place them around the rim of the pan, place the remaining in the center.
Dollop the sauce over the top, use as little or as much as you like.
Place the pizzas into the oven on the very bottom of your oven. Bake for 15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. The rim or “crust” of the pizzas should look very crispy. You may need to rotate your pizzas after about 10 min. When finished cooking remove from the oven and allow to rest a few minutes.
Cut into wedges, serve and enjoy!!!

Notes

I love Organic Valley’s uncured pepperoni – it’s organic and delicious.
Make sure that you use blocks of cheese and not shredded cheese for best results.
The prep time doesn’t include the approximate hour and a half needed to let the dough rise, so be sure to leave extra time for your dough to rise – trust me it’s worth it!
If your oven has elements on the bottom adjust your bottom rack to its lowest setting and place pizzas on the lowest rack.
I use a non-stick cake pan for easier release. Make sure to not us any metal when trying to get it out if using a non-stick pan.
Having trouble getting the pizza out of the cake pan? You can take a wooden or rubber spatula and drag it around the rim to loosen the crust from the pan and “scoop” the pizza out on to a cutting board.

Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 15
Category: Pizza
Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: pizza, Detroit style pizza, deep dish pizza