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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Detroit
Rectangular pizza with a tall, airy crust, baked in a steel pan, with cheese reaching the edge and forming a crispy crust, and the tomato sauce on top. It originated in Detroit in 1946.
Traditional dish from Detroit, Michigan
Also known as: pizza de Detroit, pizza quadrada de Detroit
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Detroit-style pizza — Detroit, the United States
Detroit-style pizza originated in 1946 at a bar on Detroit’s east side, when Gus Guerra decided to bake a Sicilian-inspired pizza in rectangular bluish steel pans—the kind used in the city’s auto factories to store parts. The pan is the secret: the dough rises tall and soft inside, while the bottom and sides become crispy.
Assembly is the reverse of a typical pizza. Pepperoni and cheese go on first, with the cheese spread to touch the pan, where it melts and toasts, creating a dark, crispy edge. The tomato sauce is applied on top, in stripes, at the end. The traditional cheese is brick, a Wisconsin cheese.
The pizza is cut into squares, and the corner pieces, with more toasted edge, are the most prized. For decades it remained a specialty of Detroit and its surroundings; in the 21st century it spread across the country, always carrying the city’s name.
Detroit , Michigan
Long-fermented dough, pepperoni, brick cheese, tomato sauce.
Cut into squares, eaten with hands or with fork and knife; the corners are the most sought-after.
Year‑round.
Your questions
The rectangular steel pan, the tall airy crust, the cheese spread to the edge that toasts and crisps, and the tomato sauce placed on top.
In 1946, at a bar on Detroit’s east side, attributed to Gus Guerra.
Because it was baked in rectangular steel pans used in the city’s auto factories.
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