What Makes Detroit Style Pizza Unique?

If airy focaccia, decadent deep-dish pizza, and cheesy breadsticks somehow converged, the result would look something like Detroit-style pizza; but this amalgamation would still fail to capture its essence. Like Detroit, its signature pizza is imaginative and unpretentious, starting with the pan it's cooked in. The deep, seasoned, forged steel pans that give Detroit-style pizzas their signature crispy crust have roots in another Detroit institution –– the auto industry. To top things off, the recipe itself is a nod to Detroit's cultural diversity.

When you hold up a slice of Detroit-style pizza, you'll notice its thick bottom crust and unique presentation. The ingredients are layered from the bottom-up, with toppings like pepperoni, mushrooms, or peppers nestled into the dough, topped with a generous layer of cheese, then finished with a dollop of pizza sauce on top. Biting into the slice reveals arguably the best part of Detroit-style pizza – a bottom crust that is delicate, buttery, and crisp, plus caramelized cheese edges (also known as "frico"). This wouldn't be possible without those specialized steel pans.

In 1946, Detroit-style pizza debuted at Buddy's Rendezvous Pizzeria on the east side of the city. It was revolutionary in many ways, but namely because it was America's first square pizza. The story goes that Gus Guerra and the crew at Buddy's wanted to bring a unique dish to the area, which was full of fried bar food fare, but lacking in pizza. Instead of using a sheet pan or baking sheet, Guerra creatively repurposed steel trays from his friend at the auto plant to bake the pizzas. These trays, typically used to hold spare parts, were perfect for pizza due to their heat-retaining properties.

Just as the pan used to make Detroit-style pizza says something about what makes Detroit special, so does this pizza recipe. Many Sicilians (along with people from other areas of Italy) immigrated to big cities like Detroit over the course of the 1900s, ready to seek out new opportunities in the auto industry and beyond. Today, many people of Italian descent still live in the city and its surrounding suburbs, and Italian food is part of the fabric of the area. The Guerra family was Sicilian as well, and created the dough formula for Buddy's pizza from a family recipe. Authentic Sicilian pizza is called "sfincione" which essentially means, "thick sponge." And as the name implies, it has a hefty yet cushiony base, which is retained in the Detroit-style pizza inspired by it.

If you want to try authentic Detroit-style pizza, a pilgrimage to Detroit is worth the trip. There are countless options downtown and beyond, starting with Buddy's Pizza, the place that started it all. The business has expanded to 16 full-service locations throughout Michigan, and has been heralded by Food & Wine Magazine, USA Today, Food Network, GQ, Zagat, Thrillist, and Parade Magazine as an excellent slice. Similarly, Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant, Detroit-Style Pizza Company, and Shield's carry on the tradition of excellent Detroit-style pizza.

Comparatively, Detroit-style pizza stands apart from other regional American pizza styles. Take Chicago deep-dish, for example. While both styles are deep-dish, Chicago-style puts more emphasis on sauce and cheese than crust, creating a pizza with much more moisture and less crispiness. Thinner styles — like cracker-thin Chicago tavern-style, New York-style, or its cousin, the thinner Brooklyn-style pizza – are a much different eating experience than a doughy Detroit-style pizza. And although it's also a midwest creation, and a bit doughier than other styles, the pizza that hails from the Quad Cities is very distinct from Detroit too. This is all to say that just like Detroit is special, so is its pizza. Its unique combination of crust, toppings, and an industrial-inspired baking technique makes Detroit-style pizza a slice worth driving for.