Detroit Pizza, a square pizza born in a car factory

Thick dough puffed up inside a square iron plate, with a dark brown crust of cheese clinging to it. Detroit PizzaThis is a depiction of explaining.

With one bite, you can feel a texture that is crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside, much like focaccia. The salty and savory cheese flavor becomes much stronger towards the edges.

The red sauce is layered over the cheese like stripes, and with every bite, the sweet and sour acidity cuts through the savory flavor of the cheese. It is an explosive umami and fluffiness.

Pizza born in a car city

The origins of this pizza date back to 1946 at Buddy's Rendezvous, a bar in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

The owner, Gus Guerra, wanted to add a new dish to the menu and referenced the recipe for 'sfincione,' a thick focaccia-style pizza passed down in his wife Anna's Sicilian family.

It is said that the recipe was perfected into the form we know today as longtime employee Connie Piccinato refined it.

What is unique is the pan used to bake this pizza. It is said that they used a square metal tray taken from a nearby auto parts factory, which was originally used to catch car parts or oil spills.

The thick iron plate retained heat for a long time, much like a cast-iron pan, and the dough baked on it produced an unexpectedly crispy and light crust. This is known to have resulted in the birth of America's first square pizza.

It is said that in the Detroit area, it was simply called "square" for a long time, and the name "Detroit style" was given much later, around the 1980s. It was not until the 2010s that it began to spread across the United States and even to other countries.

Characteristics of Detroit Pizza

Thick but not heavy crust

One of the things that surprises people the most when trying Detroit pizza for the first time is that it is not heavy at all despite its thickness. It is not as dense as Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, nor is it as flat as New York-style thin crust.

The secret lies in the amount of water added to the dough. While typical bread dough contains about 651 TP3 T of water relative to flour, this pizza dough far exceeds 701 TP3 T. The more water there is, the larger and more irregular the air bubbles within the dough become, resulting in a cross-section with holes resembling focaccia when baked.

Here, the dough undergoes a double fermentation process where it is risen once, then stretched by hand to the edges of the pan, and risen one more time. The longer this process takes, the lighter and fluffier the inside becomes.

The principle behind the crispy bottom lies in the pan itself. When you grease a thick iron plate and place the batter on it, the surface in contact with the pan cooks as if pan-fried, producing a golden brown color and a savory aroma. Even inside an oven, the part directly touching the bottom of the pan is essentially Baked as if fried It amounts to.

As a result, the outside is crispy as if fried in oil, while the inside features the light and moist texture characteristic of dough that has absorbed a lot of water.

Frico – The crispness of the cheese crown wrapping the edges

The symbol of Detroit pizza is undoubtedly the dark brown cheese crust surrounding the edge. This part that crumbles crisply when you bite into it. Cheese CrownIt is also called [another term], referring to a cooking method where cheese is spread thinly and pan-fried until crispy.

To achieve this effect, you must fill the dough tightly, until it touches the edges—that is, the walls of the pan. Instead of filling only the center like a regular pizza, you are literally pushing it all the way to the end.

When heated inside the oven, the fat inside the cheese melts first, and as the temperature rises further, the protein structure holding the cheese together breaks down, causing more fat to seep out. This melted fat presses against the hot iron wall, sticking to it as if seared in oil, and burns to a caramel color, creating a crispy crust.

Traditionally, the Wisconsin region Brick cheeseIt is a cheese first made in Wisconsin in 1877. It is characterized by being mild and nutty when aged for a short time, but becoming more aromatic as it ages longer. Due to its high fat content, it flows out easily when melted and sticks more to the edges.

However, since Brique cheese is difficult to find outside the U.S. Midwest, other regions mix mozzarella and cheddar to achieve a similar effect. Regardless of which cheese is used, the key is simple: fill the edges to create room for the fat to drain out.

Why is the sauce on top of the cheese on Detroit pizza?

Usually, pizza is made by spreading sauce on the dough, adding cheese on top, and finally placing the toppings. Detroit pizza completely reverses this order.

First, fill the dough with cheese all the way to the edges, then add toppings on top, and finally, add two or three stripes of sauce in a striped pattern. Locally, these red stripes are sometimes called 'racing stripes'.

There is a reason for stacking them this way. If the sauce comes into direct contact with the dough, the crust is prone to becoming soggy due to moisture, but if the cheese covers the dough first, it acts as a barrier against this moisture. Thanks to this, the fluffy yet crispy crust mentioned earlier is maintained until the end.

Also, the cheese must be exposed on the outside along with the topping so that the caramelization of the edges described earlier is not hindered. If it had been covered with sauce, it would have been difficult to crisp it up due to the moisture.

Often, the sauce itself is also simmered for a long time to become thick. This is because having less liquid prevents it from dripping down when placed on top, and allows for a rich flavor to be produced in a short amount of time.

Places in Korea where you can taste Detroit pizza

Motor City By Manimal(Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) is credited with being the first place to introduce Detroit pizza to Korea in 2016. Although it currently operates in three locations—Itaewon, Yeoksam, and Jamsil—it is being introduced first due to its symbolic significance as the originator that established this style in the country.

Detroit PhysicsLocated in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, this independent shop uses double-fermented focaccia dough and is widely praised for having a crust so soft it is almost like bread, while the edges are crispy. Situated in the direction of the Gyeongui Line Forest Path, it is a great place to stop by after a walk.

DoudaddyLocated in Sindang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, this is a private shop opened by an owner who learned the techniques firsthand in the United States. It is highly acclaimed for its crispy crust made from cold-fermented dough and generous cheese edges, and situated in a quiet neighborhood alley, it is a great place to enjoy a peaceful meal.

If I were to define Detroit pizza in one word

A pizza made by filling a square iron pan with high-moisture dough and baking it, pushing the cheese all the way to the edges to create a caramelized crown, and finally topping it with sauce. Only when these three conditions are met can it be truly... ‘Detroit Style’It is given the name.

What started as a coincidence on a parts tray in a car factory has now established itself as a distinct pizza style with clear standards.