Detroit pizza dough calculator
Thick, airy pan pizza at 70% hydration, with the cheese pushed to the edge to bake into a frico crown.
Detroit-style pizza is baked in a deep, oiled steel pan: a thick, open crumb, a fried-crisp bottom and the famous frico edge — cheese deliberately spread to the pan walls so it caramelizes into a lacy crown. The dough itself is simple; the pan and the cheese do most of the work.
How it works
A wet, simple dough
Water 70% (published versions cluster between 69 and 73%), salt 2.5%, no oil in the dough — the fat arrives via the generously oiled or buttered pan. The default 1.7% instant yeast is Kenji’s same-day dose for a roughly two-hour rise.
Pan-proofed, cheese to the edge
The dough is pressed and proofed directly in the pan — 535 g for the classic 25 × 35 cm steel. Cheese (traditionally Wisconsin brick) goes all the way to the edges so it melts down the walls into the frico crust; sauce is often striped on top after the cheese.
Baking
Straight into an oven as hot as it goes, 550 °F (about 290 °C) at Kenji’s, for 12–15 minutes, no par-bake. The bottom fries in the pan fat while the cheese edge darkens — run a thin spatula around the frico soon after it comes out, before it welds itself to the steel.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- J. Kenji López-Alt — Detroit-Style Pan Pizza (Serious Eats) — Kenji’s Detroit pan pizza: 73% hydration, same-day high-yeast schedule, ~534 g per pan.
- PizzaBlab — dough formulas for every pizza style — Hydration 65–70% for the style; the default sits at the top of that band.
- PizzaBlab — American pizza styles guide — “For the dough, a typical hydration is 70%” — the chosen default.
FAQ
Do I need the special Detroit pan?
The blue-steel Detroit pan is the classic, but any deep metal pan of similar size works — dark metal browns better. Scale the dough weight to your pan: the default assumes 25 × 35 cm.
Can I cold-ferment Detroit dough?
Yes. Kenji’s dose is for a two-hour rise; for a long or cold ferment lower the yeast field and give it the time. The formula itself stays the same.
What makes the edge caramelize?
Cheese in direct contact with the hot pan wall. Spread it to the very edge — hesitation is the number one beginner mistake in this style.
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