Real Detroit-Style Pizza

I grew up on real Detroit-style pizza my whole life. A square deep-dish pizza, where the pepperoni is underneath shredded brick cheese sprinkled corner to corner and then topped with a simple tomato sauce in three parallel strips. Baked until the cheese golden and the crust is crisp!

For my mom, the story begins when she lived in Hamtramck which is a city just north of Detroit. A family friend told her father (my grandfather) about Buddy’s Rendezvous. Back then, Buddy’s was a tavern and because of that, my mom and one of my Aunts would have to wait in the car while my grandfather picked the pizzas up. She said it felt like for ever, sitting and waiting for him to bring the pizzas. Now, looking back, my mom questions if the reason it took him so long was because my grandpa was enjoying a beer at the bar while waiting.

When he would finally emerge with two piping hot pizzas, the smell of the freshly made pizza would fill up the car, making it even harder to wait. So to pass the drive time while making their way back home, my mom told me that she and my aunt would play a game of “who can keep the hot box of pizza on their lap the longest”.

Fast forward a few years…

to when my grandparents moved their family to Berkley (a small city in Oakland County). There wasn’t a Buddy’s chain yet, so my grandfather would travel all that way back just to get his pizza fix. Obviously my grandfather favorite pizza was Buddy’s so I believe it’s safe to say the drive was worth it.

When my mom was newly married, my parents moved and built my childhood home in Ortonville, Michigan. Ortonville is a good hour [or more] north of Detroit. There definitely wasn’t a Buddy’s that far north either, so my mom made it her mission to recreate her own Buddy’s pizza in her very own kitchen. One evening when my parents had my grandparents over to play cards, my mom made her version of Buddy’s pizza for my grandpa and he sang her praises, saying it was the closest to Buddy’s he’s ever tasted. My grandpa isn’t one to hand out empty compliments, so she knew he meant it.

Now, there’s a Buddy’s Pizza all over the metro-Detroit area and you can find similar Detroit-style pizza in other restaurants and pizza chains as well. But Buddy’s will always be the originator of the square deep dish pizza.

Last week, I spent an hour on the phone with my mom perfecting my notes on what I remembered of her recipe; making sure I had the layering of toppings down, the specific type of cheese, sauce ingredients etc. I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight before sharing my mom’s recipe with you all.

EEEP! I’m super excited about this!

To Make Detroit-style pizza  You will need:

• recipe for homemade pizza dough [divided in half and left to rise]
• tomato sauce
• sugar
• kosher salt
• dried basil
• oregano
• brick cheese
• sandwich pepperoni

Use room temperature ingredients when making Detroit Style Pizza. Bring them all out of the fridge when starting to make the pizza dough.

Start by generously greasing two 8×8 pans with olive oil. You want the pizza crust to get nice and crispy, so about a tablespoon or more per 8×8 pan. Using a pastry brush will help coat the sides and bottom of the pan easily. My mom would always use the pepperoni grease from the wax paper that comes in the deli zip locked bag. Sadly, my pepperoni wasn’t greasy at all ☹️ so I just used about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, eyeball it.

Then to make the simple pizza sauce, pour a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce into a bowl and stir in a pinch of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of both dried basil and oregano. That’s it.

Once the pizza dough has risen. Punch each one down to deflate.

After making the pizza dough, divide it in half and place each in a separate well oiled boil. Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to rise.

Working on one pizza at a time, stretch one of the deflated balls of dough to fit an 8×8 or 9×9 pan. Next, arrange the pepperonis [and it has to be sandwich pepperoni you would get at your deli counter] overlapping and then gently pressing the pepperoni into the pizza dough. Do this same step with the last of the dough.

Then let the dough rise for a second time for 20 more minutes before you sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups of freshly grated brick cheese. Make sure you get the cheese right up to the edge of the pan, so when it bakes it gets golden and crispy.

If you ask me, brick cheese is so much better than mozzarella.

It has this buttery, creamy-ness and is utterly delicious on pizza and what makes Detroit-style pizza. In a pinch, mozzarella would do. I guess. 😉

Besides being deep-dish, what makes a pizza a Detroit-style pizza is that the sauce is on top. On top of the cheese that’s on top of the pepperoni. And you spoon it on in three parallel strips.

If you wanted any toppings [like mushrooms, onions, peppers] those go onto of the cheese and underneath the sauce.

Bake the first pizza in your preheated 425° oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Remove and then bake the second pizza while the first pizza cools slightly in the pan.

Run a knife around the edge of the pizzas to loosen any cheese that may have stuck. Then transfer the pizza to a cutting board to cut into 4 qual pieces. Serve with salad!

Pizza Friday may quickly become Detroit-Style Pizza Friday!

Ps. this is why you sprinkle the entire pizza with cheese [see below photo]. #crispy #bestpizzaever

Enjoy! And if you give this Detroit-Style Pizza recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 8 servings

Detroit-Style Pizza

I grew up on real Detroit-style pizza my whole life. A square deep-dish pizza, where the pepperoni is underneath shredded brick cheese sprinkled corner to corner and then topped with a simple tomato sauce in three parallel strips. Baked until the cheese golden and the crust is crisp!

Prep Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 18 minutes mins

Additional Time: 2 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 recipe homemade pizza dough, divided in half before rising
• 15 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 18 slices sandwich pepperoni
• 4 cups freshly grated Brick cheese

Instructions 

• Make the homemade pizza dough, divide in half and form into two round balls. Place them into two well-oiled bowls and top to coat the dough with the oil. Cover each bowl with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
• Set out the pepperoni and grated cheese to be brought up to room temperature and generously grease two 8x8 or 9x9 pans with olive oil.
• Meanwhile in a bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, sugar, salt, basil and oregano.
• Once the dough has risen, punch each one down and place each in the prepared baking pans. Stretch the dough to fit each 8x8 pan. Arrange the pepperonis [and it has to be sandwich pepperoni you would get at your deli counter] overlapping and then gently pressing the pepperoni into the pizza dough. Let the dough rise for 20 more minutes before you divide and sprinkle both with the brick cheese. Make sure you get the cheese right up to the edges of the pan.
• Meanwhile preheat your oven to 425℉ (220℃).
• Spoon the sauce in three parallel strips on top of the cheese. If you are putting any other toppings on your pizza [mushrooms, onions, peppers] add these before the sauce.
• Bake the first pizza in your preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top is golden and the crust is crispy.
• Let the pizza cool a bit in the pan before running a dull knife along the edge of the pan to release any stuck on cheese. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and cut into 4 pieces.

Notes

Make a complete Detroit meal and serve this with my Machus Red Fox Salad!

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 307kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 654mg, Potassium: 59mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 382IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 287mg, Iron: 1mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees

Cuisine: American