Sourdough Detroit Style Pizza Recipe

Detroit style pizza recipe featured image

Sourdough Detroit Style Pizza Recipe

Detroit style pizza features a thick, chewy crust with an open crumb and piles of gooey cheese that get gorgeously crispy on the outer edges. Sourdough creates a lovely balanced flavor profile that lends itself beautifully to this style of pizza. If you keep sourdough starter on hand, this is a great way to use it!

Course Bread, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Detroit Deep Dish Pizza, Detroit Pizza, Detroit Pizza Recipe, Detroit Style Deep Dish Pizza, Detroit Style Pizza, Detroit Style Pizza Recipe, Sourdough Detroit Style Pizza

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Other Time: 6

Servings servings

Calories 549kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Equipment

9 by 13 by 2.25-inch baking pan

Ingredients

Sourdough Crust:

112 grams sourdough starter 100% hydration; fed and bubbly
297 grams water filtered; room temperature
9 grams fine sea salt
395 grams unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon duck fat or beef tallow or ghee (to grease the pan; see Notes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for the bottom of the pan (plus more to oil your hands; see Notes)

Toppings:

3/4 cup pizza sauce
1 pound freshly shredded mozzarella cheese see Notes

Instructions

Make the Dough:

Mix (30 minute wait time). Add the sourdough starter, water, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Mix in the bread flour (the dough will be shaggy at this point; don’t knead it). Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and folds (90 minute wait time). Perform a stretch and fold, and then cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold process 3 more times every 30 minutes.
Finish bulk fermentation (4 hour wait time). Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 X 2.25-inch pan with duck fat (see Notes). Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil across the bottom of the greased pan. After the 4th stretch and fold, place the dough in the oiled pan (you don’t have to spread it out, it will naturally spread out as it ferments). Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let it sit at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, jiggles when you shake the pan, and is bubbly on top, about 4-ish hours at 74F (adjust the time accordingly if your temperature is different).
Cold proof/second rise (optional; up to 24 hours). At this point, you have the option to do a second fermentation/cold proof if you don’t want to bake the pizza yet. To do so, pop the covered pan of dough into the fridge for up to 24 hours. (See Notes.)

Assemble the Pizza:

Prep. Position a rack in the bottom 1/3 of the oven and preheat the oven to 450F (see Notes). Shred the cheese.
Top the pizza. Oil your fingers, and use them to indent the dough and create a dimpled surface, spreading the dough out to the edges of the pan. Spread on the pizza sauce and then the cheese, going all the way to the edges with the toppings (see Notes). Cover the pan with foil (see Notes).

Bake:

Bake (covered) for 15 minutes, then remove the foil cover and bake uncovered until the top is brown in spots, about 13 to 15 minutes more.

Cool and Slice:

Let the pizza cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully slide it out onto a cutting board and cut it into slices.

Video

Notes

Duck Fat: Duck fat is my personal favorite for greasing the pan here; it lends an underlying savory flavor (nope, it doesn’t make the pizza taste like duck!) and helps it crisp beautifully.
Olive Oil: It’s going to look like a lot in the pan (the oil will likely pool on the sides as the dough ferments and spreads out). That’s okay; trust the process! The end result is a crisp bottom crust that’s typical of classic Detroit pizza.
Cheese: You can use all mozzarella (I usually use a block of whole milk mozzarella), or a blend of mozzarella + mild white cheddar to simulate the flavor of brick cheese. And if you have it available, use Wisconsin brick cheese for the most authentic tasting Detroit pizza!
Optional Proof (Second Rise): After bulk fermentation, you have the option to cold proof the dough for up to 24 hours (which is great because it’s ready when you are, which makes this easy to fit into your schedule!). Although it’s possible to skip the second rise completely, I recommend at least a 3-hour cold proof in the fridge.
The Pan and the Oven Rack Position: Your pan should be 9 by 13 by 2.25 inches; make sure it’s oven safe up to 450F. We want to position the oven rack in the bottom 1/3 of the oven so it’s a bit closer to the heat source to help the bottom get nice and crispy like traditional Detroit style pizza.
Topping the Pizza: Instead of spreading the sauce on the dough and then adding the cheese, if you want “racing stripes”, spread the cheese directly on the dough (all the way to the edges), and then ladle on lines of pizza sauce.
Baking Covered and Uncovered: We bake this sourdough pizza for 15 minutes covered with foil, and then for 13 to 15 minutes uncovered. The reason for baking covered at first is to simulate sourdough baking in a Dutch oven; baking covered traps steam and helps the sourdough crust get the most oven spring, resulting in a light, fluffy texture with an open crumb. After that, we remove the foil for the second half of baking so the crust can set and the top can take on some golden color.
Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This makes 1 (9 by 13-inch) pan, which I like to cut into 6 slices for 6 servings. Feel free to cut it smaller if you like. I know 1 slice might not seem like a lot, but this pizza is filling thanks to its sourdough crust and abundance of cheese!
To See How to Make Sourdough: Sometimes it just helps to see how something is done! Making this sourdough pizza crust is the same process as making sourdough bread. If you want a visual guide, check out my recipe for sourdough bread on Sourdough Diaries for step-by-step process photos. You can also watch my recipe video for sourdough bread on YouTube.
Storage: Cool to room temperature and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, individually wrap cooled slices in freezer paper and store them in a zip-top freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: If you want the absolute best way to reheat this pizza (I’m talking so good the-reheated-pizza-might-be-better-than-the-fresh), the stovetop is the way to go. To reheat pizza on the stovetop, you’ll need a large skillet with a lid (or you can cover it with a piece of aluminum foil). Turn the heat on low to medium-low, add however many slices you want, cover the skillet, and let it do its thing for about 10 to 15 minutes. What makes this reheating method the best?, you ask. The bottom gets gloriously crisp and golden, and the cheese melts perfectly.

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