Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories.

[2][3] The dough typically has a hydration level of 70 percent or higher, which creates an open, porous, chewy crust with a crisp exterior.

[9] The buttery flavor of the crust results from a small quantity of oil and the melting properties of the mozzarella and Wisconsin brick cheeses.

[5] Detroit-style pizza was developed in 1946 at Buddy's Rendezvous, a former speakeasy owned by Gus and Anna Guerra located at the corner of Six Mile Road and Conant Street in Detroit.

[2][3][19][1] The steel pans were made by Dover Parkersburg in the 1930s and 1940s and were originally used as drip trays or to hold small parts or scrap metal in automobile factories.

[2] In 2012, a New York restaurateur created a pizza he called "Detroit-style", though he had never visited Detroit, using focaccia dough, mozzarella, and ricotta.

[14] In 2019, Esquire called the style "one of the hottest food trends across America",[4][26] and both the Detroit Free Press[4] and Eater said Detroit-style pizza was "having its moment".

These designer square slices are sometimes baked in a wood-fired oven and often served on Instagrammable metal trays in perfect lighting—a departure from the checkered tablecloths, no-frills boat drinks, and generous displays of bocce ball plaques at Buddy's.

And in this new era of Detroit-style pizza, it's this photogenic version that many Americans are discovering first.Eater said the artisanal trend was slow to catch on in Detroit.

[2] Along with the Coney Island hot dog and the Boston cooler, the traditional Detroit-style is one of Detroit's iconic local foods.

[35] Plate mentions that "The chewy crust, crispy cheese corners, and hearty meal of a slice fits precisely with what customers want right now: rich, satisfying comfort to-go.

[37] A writer for Delish originally from Chicago and now based in New York City provided a positive review in an article correspondingly entitled "What Is Detroit-Style Pizza?