Detroit-style pizza in a rectangular steel pan

Dough spec

Flour

Bread flour

Hydration

75%

Salt

2.2%

Oil

3%

Scale this guide

This dough is sized to the pan, not a per-pizza ball weight — use the pan/tray dough calculator with this pan's dimensions and the thick_pan loading band to size dough for a different pan size. Open the full dough calculator for more control, or the fermentation schedule builder to work backwards from a target bake time using this guide’s room temperature long fermentation approach.

Steps

1. MixMachine-mix to a soft, high-hydration dough — this dough is too wet to knead comfortably by hand.
2. Bulk fermentBulk ferment at room temperature for 2-4 hours.
3. ShapeOil a rectangular steel pan generously and press the dough directly into it, pushing it right to the corners. Don't fight the dough if it resists — let it relax for 10-15 minutes and press again.
4. Final proofProof in the pan for 1-2 hours, until visibly puffed.
5. TopCover the surface edge-to-edge with brick cheese (or a low-moisture mozzarella/brick blend), pressed right to the pan's sides — this is what forms the caramelised edge.
6. TopAdd any toppings on top of the cheese, then finish with 2-3 stripes of sauce over the top rather than underneath — the reverse of most styles.
7. BakeBake at the oven's maximum temperature (around 250C) for 12-16 minutes, until the cheese edge is deeply caramelised and the base is crisp.
8. RestRest briefly in the pan, then run a knife around the edge to release the caramelised cheese border before cutting.

Bake notes

The caramelised edge depends on the cheese actually touching the hot pan — under-filling the corners is the most common reason a home attempt comes out without it.