Sicilian-American pizza in a rectangular pan

Dough spec

Flour

High-gluten flour

Hydration

70%

Salt

2.2%

Oil

6%

Scale this guide

This dough is sized to the pan, not a per-pizza ball weight — use the pan/tray dough calculator with your pan's dimensions and the Thick and airy thickness setting 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, well-hydrated dough — high-gluten flour gives it the strength to hold an open, airy crumb once baked thick.
2. Bulk fermentBulk ferment at room temperature for 2-4 hours, until visibly risen.
3. ShapePress the dough by hand into a generously oiled rectangular pan, working it to the corners. If it resists, let it rest 10 minutes and press again rather than forcing it.
4. Final proofProof in the pan for a further 1-2 hours, until the dough has puffed and fills the pan's corners on its own.
5. TopApply sauce and a full layer of low-moisture mozzarella in the conventional order (sauce first, then cheese) — unlike Detroit's reverse layering, this style's cheese isn't pressed to the pan's edge for a caramelised border.
6. BakeBake at around 230-250C for 20-25 minutes, until deeply golden on top and crisp on the oiled bottom.
7. RestRest briefly in the pan before cutting to let the crumb set.
8. ServeCut into a grid of squares and serve from the pan.

Bake notes

The crumb here is denser and more focaccia-like than Detroit's — this dough is proofed and baked without the brick-cheese edge and reverse sauce stripe that define Detroit's signature crust, so don't expect the same lacy, caramelised border.