But throughout this series, there's one thing I really struggled with. You see, Detroit-Style pizza is known for having a shatteringly crisp cheese edge, which is created by the Blue Steel pans that the pizza is traditionally baked in.
However, whenever I tried to make this pizza at home, my edges ended up burnt.
Now don't get me wrong, I do like a good bit of charring. But even for me, this was too much.
Fortunately after much experimentation, I came up with a method that solves this problem. And surprisingly, it's a method that I've never seen anyone use before (I'm not saying that it hasn't been done but I just haven't seen it, okay?) Anyways, here it is:
THE PAR-TOPPING METHOD
Now, a common method when making pan pizzas is to par-bake. In other words, to first bake the dough on it's own to set the structure, so that you end up with something like this:
Which can then be fully topped and baked again to finish it off. And this method does work, but it has a major problem...
You see, one of the characteristic features of a Detroit-style pizza is that the pepperonis and cheese sort of "bake in" to the dough. That's why they're traditionally added first, directly on top of the dough. And when you par-bake, you lose out on that effect. Instead, you end up with something that more closely resembles a loaf of bread with melted cheese on top.
So my method fixes this issue - and it's actually very simple. Rather than "par-baking", I call this method "par-topping":
STEP 1: Partially top the pizza (i.e. "par-top") and bake.
Start with flat pepperonis (if using), followed by a light layer of cheese, being sure not to place too much around the edges of the pizza yet. The cheese should just barely cover the surface of the pizza.
Then just like this, bake the pizza at your oven's highest temperature for 7 minutes. This is what it should look like when your remove it from the oven:
STEP 2: Top the pizza the rest of the way and finish baking.
After this initial bake, the structure of the pizza is set so we can go ahead and finish topping it! Start with the rest of your cheese, this time being sure to place it all around the edges, followed by your sauce, and finally any additional toppings you may be using.
Add cheese, then sauce, then toppings.
Then bake for another 4-5 minutes, still at your oven's highest temperature, on the same oven rack as before.
And that's it! Using this method, the dough turns out MUCH lighter and airier because it isn't weighed down by all of the toppings during that crucial initial bake. And because the cheese around the edges only bakes for 4-5 minutes, it crisps up nicely without burning!
As a nice bonus, since the pizza already rose during the first bake, that cheese around the edges stays put during the second bake and creates an aesthetically-pleasing crown-like effect around the edges of the pizza.
I honestly think this recipe makes the best Detroit-Style pizza I've ever had, and I'm confident you'll feel the same way!
Best,
Charlie
P.S. The par-topping method is just one of the many things we cover in-depth in Total Pizza Mastery. If you want to learn my full system for making world-class pizza at home, get on the waitlist here - the next cohort is coming soon!