Any night can be pizza night with this easy Detroit Style Pizza recipe. This single serving pizza has a thick deep dish crust and is topped with plenty of cheese, pepperoni and sauce. It's easy to make and bakes in just 15 minutes!
Prep Time3 hourshrs
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time3 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: deep dish pizza, detroit pizza, Detroit style pizza, pizza
Combine Ingredients: In a bowl, mix the bread flour, salt, instant yeast, water, and olive oil. With instant yeast, there’s no need for pre-activation, so you can add it directly to the other ingredients. A spoon is all you need for mixing, making this a simple no-knead method.
First Rise: After mixing, transfer the dough to an olive oil-lined bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, which should take about 2 hours.
Prepare the Pan: Once the dough has risen, coat your baking dish or cast iron skillet generously with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the pan. Given its wet and sticky nature, lightly oiling your fingers can help in spreading the dough evenly.
Second Rise: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for another hour.
Assembling and Baking the Pizza
Position a rack at the lowest position of the oven, and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Make sure the baking dish you use can withstand oven temperatures this high. If not, bake the pizza at the highest temperature your dish will allow.
Add Sauce: Spread pizza sauce or tomato sauce evenly over the dough.
Add Pepperoni: Layer slices of pepperoni on top of the sauce.
Add Cheese: Cover with mozzarella cheese – I use a mix of cubed and shredded cheese. Then, dollop a few spoonfuls of sauce over the cheese.
Bake the Pizza: Place in the bottom rack of your oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove the pizza from the oven, run a spatula or a knife around the edges to loosen it from the pan. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, cut, and enjoy.
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Notes
Yeast Options: While this recipe uses instant yeast, active dry yeast is a viable substitute. The key difference is that active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water before use, whereas instant yeast can be mixed directly with other ingredients.
Weighing Ingredients: For accuracy and consistency, using a kitchen scale is recommended. Affordable and easy to use, a kitchen scale ensures precise measurements for perfect pizza dough.
Handling Sticky Dough: If the dough sticks to your fingers, lightly greasing them with olive oil can help manage the dough without mess.
Troubleshooting Dough Rise Issues: If the dough doesn’t rise, it could be due to inactive yeast or incorrect water temperature. Also, a too cold environment hinders the rising process. A helpful tip is to let the dough rise in a slightly warm oven. Warm the oven for a minute, turn it off, then place the dough inside. Be cautious not to overheat the oven – sometimes, the oven light alone provides enough warmth.
Baking the Pizza: Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F, or the highest temperature possible, for optimal browning and crisping of the crust. This high temperature ensures the crust cooks perfectly without drying out. Ensure your baking dish is suitable for such high heat; if not, adjust to the maximum temperature your dish can handle.
Ceramic Baking Dishes: Most ceramic dishes, like my Le Creuset 5×7 dish, are also suitable for baking. According to the Le Creuset website, this specific dish can tolerate temperatures up to 450 degrees F. If your dish is rated for up to 450 degrees, bake the pizza at this temperature but for a slightly longer duration to achieve the perfect crust.