Detroit-Style Pan Pizza in an Outdoor Pizza Oven

A mouth-watering pepperoni pizza baking in a commercial oven, showcasing its crispy crust and toppings.

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This recipe follows Ooni’s own Detroit-style Pizza recipe, baked in an outdoor pizza oven rather than a home oven, with the style’s origin story cross-checked against the Institute of Culinary Education’s history of Detroit-style pizza, which interviews Buddy’s Rendezvous COO Wesley Pikula directly.

Where the Style Actually Comes From

Both sources place the style’s birth at Buddy’s Rendezvous on Detroit’s east side in 1946. Ooni’s version credits bar owner Gus Guerra, who was looking to add menu items and “just happened to have a few unused blue steel industrial utility trays,” which he thought could work for a Sicilian-style pizza. ICE’s account, sourced from Pikula, describes the same origin slightly differently: “The pans themselves were scrap metal pans… they could be used as drip trays. I’m sure one of the regulars brought one of those in.” The two descriptions agree on the essential fact — an automotive-city scrap or utility pan, repurposed as a pizza pan — even though they don’t describe the pan in identical terms, which is a reminder that some of this history was passed down rather than documented at the time. Ooni goes further and notes that even the dough recipe’s true author is disputed, crediting “maybe Guerra’s wife, Anna, or an ‘old Sicilian dude named Dominic,’” while agreeing the dough’s technique is Sicilian in origin.

The Caramelized Edge and the Pan That Followed

ICE’s history adds a detail Ooni’s recipe page doesn’t cover: the now-famous caramelized cheese edge wasn’t fully established until 1978, when “Jet’s Pizza was the second Detroit pizzeria to adopt the square, scrap metal pan approach,” and it’s specifically credited with originating “the iconic, caramelized corners.” As Pikula put it, “It might look basic to the eye, but its nature is anything but.” Wisconsin brick cheese, spread to the edges of the pan, is the ingredient both sources point to as central to that effect — Ooni’s recipe instructs cooks to pay “particular attention to the edges” when adding cheese, for exactly this reason, though its own topping list substitutes mozzarella and cheddar for the original brick cheese.

Dough

Ooni’s dough is a lean, yeasted dough built for a 9 by 13-inch pan (the equipment list actually specifies a 10 by 13-inch Detroit-style pizza pan, so check your own pan’s dimensions against the dough quantity below):

  • ½ teaspoon (3 g) instant dried yeast, or 4½ g active dried yeast, or 9 g fresh yeast
  • 1½ tablespoons (20 g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for coating the pan
  • ½ tablespoon (10 g) fine sea salt
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (260 g) water
  • 3 cups (350 g) strong bread flour

Toppings

  • ¾ cup (80 g) cheddar, shredded
  • 1 cup (100 g) mozzarella, shredded
  • 1 cup (100 g) pepperoni slices
  • ½ cup (120 g) pizza sauce

Method

  1. Combine the water, yeast, and olive oil in a stand mixer bowl. Add the flour and salt, then mix on low-to-medium speed for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Without a mixer, combine by hand and knead about 15 minutes.
  2. Cover and proof at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, until doubled in size. (For a cold proof instead, refrigerate for 72 hours, then bring out 2 to 3 hours before cooking.)
  3. Drizzle the bottom and sides of the pan generously with olive oil.
  4. Transfer the dough to the pan and “dimple” it with your fingertips, pressing and pushing it into the corners. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
  5. Dimple the dough again, once more working it toward the corners of the pan.
  6. Preheat the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, aiming for 650°F (343°C) on the baking stone, checked with an infrared thermometer.
  7. Add the cheese first, paying particular attention to the edges to build the frico crust, then the pepperoni, then two stripes of pizza sauce over the top.
  8. Confirm the stone is still at 650°F (343°C), then turn the flame to its lowest setting. Place the pan at the front of the oven, away from direct flame, and rotate it every 2 minutes so the base cooks evenly. Bake 10 to 15 minutes depending on the pan and crust thickness; if it’s browning too fast, turn the flame off for 3 to 5 minutes.
  9. Remove the pizza from the pan with a spatula and let it rest on a rack for 2 minutes before slicing into 4 pieces.

Ooni’s own equipment note is specific to its accessory: “If using Ooni’s Detroit-style Pizza Pan, do not exceed 700°F (371°C),” since higher stone temperatures can push a metal pan past what it’s rated for even though the same dough would tolerate a hotter Neapolitan-style bake.

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