Let us show you how to make your very own pan pizzas at home using the pans that you normally use to bake a cake in or a cast iron casserole pan.
📋 What's New In This Post (1/25/25) - Update to showcase baking the pizza in a cast iron casserole pan.
The Michigander's Pizza
Chicago vs. New York. Who has the better pizza? In my opinion its Detroit! Having grown up in the Great Lakes State, not far from the Motor City, Detroit style pizza has been in my life for a long time, way before it became trendy.
Buddy's Pizza was the one who first created it. They took a steel auto pan and used it to make a pizza in. What could possibly be more Detroit! Although I never had Buddy's Pizza growing up, I did have Jet's Pizza when it arrived in my hometown of Port Huron. They make a greasy square shaped pizza with crispy corners.
You better believe I make my own Detroit style pizza nowadays. When I make it I use either:
- A round cast pan (or circle but less traditional)
- A Lodge Cast Iron Casserole pan
Let me teach you all I know about making my version of Detroit style pizza so you can enjoy it in your home too!
Pan vs. Hand Tossed
First I want to begin the discussion with talking about the difference between a pan pizza and a hand tossed pizza. It's all in how you form the crust.
- Hand tossed pizzas the dough is free formed, so it's free to rise both upward and outward when baked.
- Pan pizza is formed inside of some type of pan that will limit how the dough spreads.
Is one easier than the other? Not particularly, unless you are trying to throw your pizza up in the air! I am not skilled enough to attempt that!
Which Pans to Use?
The cheap pan that most people will have in their kitchen already for making a pan pizza is a good cake pan.
Please follow this rule - Never use anything for this pizza that is is non-stick. Your pizza won't get that crispy outside in a non-stick pan. Plus it's too easy to scrap the non-stick pan causing the coating to come off in your food.
An aluminum cake pan that you coat with oil will be what you want for a crispy outer crust. Here are some sizing options along with other types of pan you may (or in one case, may not) want to tory.
Rectangle
You can get about 6-8 slices out of these the standard 9 x 13 rectangle pan. A pan with corners is going to give you really crispy corners, and I know you want crispy corners! Rectangle cake pans are the perfect size for making homemade focaccia as well.
Square
The square sized pans are smaller at 9 x 9 inches. If you really like corners, filling up a couple square pans can give you more of those delicious corner pieces.
Round
The standard size for a round cake pan is 9 inches. Larger than Pizza Hut's 6 inch for their personal pan pizzas. You can find 6 inch cake pans.
Cast Iron
If you want to spring for something really special, get yourself a Lodge Cast Iron Casserole pan. Cast iron does a great job of spreading out the heat, so that you end up with that crust that is crispy outside and soft inside, the most important aspects of a Detroit style pizza.
Heart Shaped
You can try other things besides a circle or square pan. This year for Valentine's Day, I used a heart shaped pan. It came out great. Deciding how to cut it evenly was the only challenge - but it's fun!
Bundt Pan
Could you make a pizza in a bundt pan? A lot of recipes use the bundt pan to make a monkey bread style pizza, where it's a cheesy bread that you then dip into marinara sauce. Yum!
Doing an actual pizza in a bundt pan would be hard. Normally when you bake in a bundt pan, you turn it over when it's time to eat the cake. So if you did that the pizza would be upside down. You can't bake it with the cheese and sauce on the bottom of the pan.
The Dough & The Cheese
Here are the ingredients for a basic pizza dough that I use.
- Bread flour or 00 pizza flour
- Dry yeast
- Salt
- Sugar
- Olive oil (better quality, better flavor)
- Warm water
Ingredients for pizza dough don't have to be complicated. Head to the bottom of the page for the complete recipe.
Brick Cheese
You normally think of mozzarella for pizza, but Detroit style pizza should be mde with Mild Brick cheese. Normally this comes from Wisconsin and althought we don't agree on who is the best NFL team, we all can agree that once you try Brick cheese on a pizza, you will never want to go back. Check out my post on What's Brick Cheese to learn more.
♻️ Substitutes
You can change the oil that you use. I live olive oil for the flavor, but feel free to use what oil you have on hand.
Bread flour is preferred for it's higher gluten content, but you can use all-purpose as well. The best flour to use for pizza is 00 pizza flour. The "00" comes from how the Italian's rate the grind of their flour. "00" is the finest grind.
Brick cheese is hard to find outside the midwest, so you can just mozzarella like everyone else.
Tips on Removing the Pizza
Let the pizza cool for a few minutes before you attempt to de-pan. Since you oiled the pan it should be easy to get it out. You can use a butter knife (don't use a good steak knife, you might damage it on the metal pan) around the edges to help pry it out if necessary.
Then I use two spatulas to remove it from the pan. Then slice and enjoy.
Even More Pizza
Maybe you don't have time to make pizza dough from scratch. When our family doesn't we make homemade pizza bagels in our air fryer. There are tons of different ways you can make pizza. Be inspire and read through my post on Pizza Reinvented: 25 Creative Twists to Elevate Your Homemade Pie
If you like reading post, make sure you take a listen to my podcast episode based on the original post. Just hit play below. Hear how my special guest uses cast iron for her pizzas.
Homemade Detroit Style Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 cups bread flour or 00 pizza flour
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup warm water
- ¾ - 1 cup tomato sauce homemade if you can
- 8-10 ounces brick or mozzarella cheese
- spray oi for the pan
Instructions
- Combine the warm (not hot) water, yeast, and sugar in a mixing bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Add the flour, olive oil, and salt to the yeast mixture.
- Knead until your dough is formed. Add more flour (¼ cup at a time) if it feels sticky. You can knead by hand, or you can use a stand mixer with the dough hook or a bread machine on the dough setting only.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, grease up the bowl with a little oil so the dough doesn't stick and toss it back in.
- Cover and allow the dough to rise until it doubles about 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
- Oil a 13x9 cake pan. Punch down the dough and add it to the cake pan, flattening it out so that it reaches every edge. If the dough is not stretching enough, let it rest for 5-10 minutes, and then try again.
- Allow the dough to rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Top with cheese. tomato sauce and pepperoni to taste.
- Place into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until crust has browned and the cheese has melted and browned some.
- Allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and using two spatula remove the pizza from the pan onto a cutting board. Slice and enjoy!
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