Detroit-style pizza, a descendent of Sicilian-style pizza, traces its roots to one man Gus Guerra. In 1946, Gus owned what was then a neighborhood bar, Buddys Rendezvous, when he decided he needed something new for the menu. He enlisted the help of his wife, Anna, who borrowed a dough recipe from her Sicilian mother. The Sicilian dough, topped with cheese and tomato sauce, would become the model for pizza in Detroit.
The key ingredient in a proper Detroit-style pizza isnt something you eat its the pan. The key characteristics of the pizza the soft and airy square crust, the crunchy exterior, the caramelized cheese that edges the pizza are all due to the deep pans in which the pizzas are baked. The pans are a thick steel pan that are more similar to a cast iron skillet than a cake pan. Legend has it that Gus got his initial batch of pans from a friend who worked in a factory that used the pans for spare parts. Detroiters have been fighting for corner slices ever since.