Detroit-style pizza has seen an upswing thanks to the global interest and national awareness surrounding all things Detroit. This pizza style stands out for its deep square cut, crispy crust, and generous drizzles of sauce over its surface.
Buddy’s unique crunch comes from using steel pans. Gus Guerra, owner of Buddy’s Pizza Shoppes, first made his pizzas using recycled metal pans from auto assembly lines as the substrates for his pizza ovens.
The Blue Steel Pan
Detroit-style pizza stands in its own league. It distinguishes itself from square Sicilian pizza by having a lighter and airier texture and from deep-dish pizza by featuring crunchy caramelized crust.
Detroit-style pizza’s distinctive characteristic lies not in its ingredients or toppings, but in how it is baked. August “Gus” Guerra of Buddy’s Rendezvous created the original Detroit-style pizza in 1946 using a steel pan given him from an automotive factory as spare parts from one of their employees.
These thicker pizza pans feature straight sides to encourage dough to rise higher and create crispier crust, according to Dybis. Furthermore, their deep design allows cheese to climb upward and create layers of crispy edges along their edges.
Over time, Detroit-style pizza quickly became a favorite in Southeast Michigan, reaching local legends such as Loui’s and Cloverleaf Bar and Restaurant. But it wouldn’t make national waves until 2012, when Shawn Randazzo won the World Champion Pizza Maker competition and put his take on Detroit-style pizza on the map.
The Blend of Crust
Detroit-style pizza dough stands out from other varieties by not only being lighter but also being fluffy due to a long proofing period, thanks to yeast and air bubbles that give its signature light texture.
Buddy’s distinguishes itself from other pizzas with its signature rectangular-shaped pie, baked in an oiled and preheated metal pan that typically measures 14×16. But as the dough rises it turns rounder forming crisp edges. Legend has it that co-owner Gus Guerra used an oil tray commonly found in Detroit automotive plants to keep nuts, bolts and other parts organized during production processes.
Now, restaurants across the country are using Detroit-style pans to craft tasty pizza pies just as delicious and Instagrammable as those found at Buddy’s. But if you want to attempt making Detroit-style pizza at home, an unusual pan and special type of flour are necessary.
The Sauce
Even though Detroit-style pizza has gained widespread attention across the country, there remain dedicated followers who visit Buddy’s Rendezvous Pizzeria in downtown Detroit for a taste of home. Though its history dates back 77 years, its square shape only really became widely recognized after master pizzaiolo Shawn Randazzo brought it up at an international pizza festival in Las Vegas in 2012.
Randazzo has long been recognized for popularizing his signature style of pizza making. He continues to teach it all over the country and world – even traveling as far afield as Dubai, Kuwait and South Korea to train chefs on how to properly make pizza!
Although some Detroiters question the authenticity of out-of-state chains’ attempts at replicating this unique dish, most seem content that its popularity is increasing and drawing customers into local pizzerias – even if that means dealing with people trying to plant their faces into it while taking selfies! That’s a win for Motor City overall!
The Cheese
Detroit pizza stands apart from Chicago deep dish and New York thin crust in that its toppings-over-sauce style is distinctively American. Wisconsin cheese bricks provide the creamy, tangy sauce for these pizzas baked in blue steel pans used by Gus’ original restaurant for baking their pies using metal auto parts trays as baking pans.
Pizzas are baked for about 15-20 minutes until their bottoms have become golden-brown and their cheese has developed golden caramelization. Once done, slices should be foldable yet crisp with light yet crispy dough and an indulgent tomato sauce topped off with rich cheese sauce.
Detroit pizza’s popularity is quickly expanding nationwide, with fans in Portland, Denver and Austin declaring their devotion to this delicious style of pie. Additionally, high-end restaurants and food trucks across the country now serve Detroit-style pies; no matter where you reside you can still experience its delectable tastes by making these easy versions yourself – we know it won’t take long for Detroit-style to become your go-to pie!
