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DetroitEasy

Detroit Hawaiian

Ham and pineapple in a Detroit pan. The caramelized pineapple makes this version actually good.

Recipe by the Pizza Planet team · Published

Prep + bake 30 min · Dough schedule 26 h 15 min · Total 26 h 45 min4 servings

Pineapple on a Detroit divides people, and the objection is usually moisture rather than taste. The trick is pre-roasting the pineapple to drive off water, or at minimum patting it bone-dry with paper towels for a full minute. Wet pineapple ruins a Detroit because the dough at the bottom turns to mush. Once you solve the moisture problem, the caramelized pineapple cooked into the cheese-frico edge is genuinely incredible — like the best part of a glazed ham sandwich. Add jalapeño slices for the sweet-spicy-salty version. Skip the drying step and you get exactly the soggy middle this style is least forgiving of.

Flour: King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein) — read the review

Dough Formula

Dough formula in grams and baker's percentage
IngredientGramsBaker's %
Flour (12.7% protein)232 g100.0%
Water163 g70.3%
Salt5.8 g2.5%
Yeast1.6 g0.7%
Oil9 g3.9%
Sugar3 g1.3%

Makes 1 ball of ≈415 g

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 ball Pizza dough (see formula above)

Toppings

  • 300g Brick cheese or mozz/Muenster mix
  • 150g, diced Ham or Canadian bacon
  • 150g, drained Pineapple chunks
  • 100 g Cooked tomato sauceFor stripes on top

Instructions

  1. 1

    Make the dough: mix per the formula above, then follow the calculator schedule for Detroit — 26 h bulk/cold ferment before shaping (hands-on 20 min).

  2. 2

    Press dough into oiled pan, let rise 30-45 min.

  3. 3

    Add cheese to edges, then distribute ham and pineapple.

  4. 4

    Bake at 260-290°C (500-550°F) for 12-15 minutes.

  5. 5

    Add sauce stripes and serve.

Tips

  • Hands-on time is about 30 minutes; allow the dough its full ferment — see the calculator schedule
  • Pat pineapple VERY dry — excess moisture is the enemy
  • The caramelized pineapple bits at the edges are incredible
  • Try adding jalapeño for sweet-spicy-salty trifecta
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How to Make Detroit Hawaiian

Video coming soon

Shop this bake

  • Flour

    King Arthur Bread Flour

    King Arthur Bread Flour

    The first bag to buy if you bake in a domestic oven. At 12.7% protein with added amylase on the label it gives you chew and colour at 250 °C, which is exactly what an unmalted 00 will not.

    $14.32· as of Aug 30, 2026

    iProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

    Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Check price on Amazon →Read the review →
  • Ingredient

    SAF Instant Yeast

    SAF Instant Yeast

    Instant, so it goes in dry with the flour: no warm-water step means no step at which the yeast can be cooked, which is where an active-dry dough most often dies.

    Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Check price on Amazon →Read the review →
  • Equipment

    Original Baking Steel

    Original Baking Steel

    6.4 mm is the home compromise: enough stored heat to bake two pies back to back, in a slab that will never crack the way a cordierite stone eventually does.

    $139.00· as of Aug 30, 2026

    iProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

    Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Check price on Amazon →Read the review →

If this goes wrong

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