Blue Pan Pizza: Detroit-Style Delights

Blue Pan Pizza is a pizza joint in Denver, Colorado, that serves award-winning Detroit-style pizza. The name comes from the blue steel pans originally used to carry auto parts, in which Detroit-style pizza is baked. Blue Pan Pizza offers a range of pizzas, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Parma Italia, and Detroit Style Chicken Pesto, as well as gluten-free and thin crust options.

Blue Pan Pizza is a pizza joint in Denver, Colorado

Blue Pan Pizza offers award-winning, authentic Detroit-style pizza. Some of their Detroit-style pizzas are baked in blue steel pans imported from Detroit, staying true to the Motor City tradition. The signature characteristic of this style of pizza is the caramelized crust, achieved by using a unique blend of brick, white cheddar, and whole milk mozzarella cheeses. The cheese is spread to the edges of the pizza pan, allowing it to melt and form a crisp, browned crust.

In addition to Detroit-style pizza, Blue Pan Pizza also offers 16-inch Chicago Cracker and 16-inch New York Style pizzas, as well as gluten-free options. They have a food truck available for events and also offer takeout and delivery services.

The restaurant has received positive reviews, with customers praising the food, service, and quality. Blue Pan Pizza has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, with Guy Fieri describing their pizza as "dynamite."

It is named after the blue autoparts pan used to make Sicilian-style pizza in Michigan

Blue Pan Pizza is a funky pizza joint in Denver, Colorado, that serves award-winning Detroit-style pizza. The name "Blue Pan" comes from the blue autoparts pan used to make Sicilian-style pizza in Michigan.

In the 1940s, bar owner Gus Guerra and his wife, Anna, decided to throw a batch of her mother's Sicilian dough into a blue steel pan, originally used to carry auto parts, and bake it with cheese and sauce. The dough baked into the pan, creating a blackened, lacy, crispy cheese crust all the way around the edges. This method of cooking Sicilian-style pizza in Michigan became the inspiration for Blue Pan Pizza's name.

Blue Pan Pizza stays true to the Motor City tradition by baking some of their Detroit-style pizzas in blue steel pans imported from Detroit. The signature characteristic of authentic Detroit-style pizza, the caramelized crust, is achieved by using a unique blend of brick, white cheddar, and whole milk mozzarella cheeses. The blue steel pans play a crucial role in creating the distinct crispy cheese crust that defines Detroit-style pizza.

Blue Pan Pizza offers a variety of pizza styles, including Detroit-style, Chicago Cracker, and New York Style, as well as gluten-free options. They also have a food truck that brings their delicious pizza to various locations in Denver, providing a fun and convenient way to enjoy their award-winning pies.

Blue Pan Pizza serves award-winning Detroit-style pizza

Blue Pan Pizza is a funky pizza joint in Denver, Colorado, that serves award-winning Detroit-style pizza. The restaurant is named after the autoparts pan that a man from Sicily used while trying to recreate Sicilian-style pizza in Michigan.

Blue Pan Pizza is owned by Michigan natives Giles Flanagin and Chef Jeff "Smoke" Smokevitch, who brought the crispy pan pizza style to the Mile High City. The signature characteristic of Detroit-style pizza is its caramelized crust, achieved by using a unique blend of brick, white cheddar, and whole milk mozzarella cheeses. The crust is baked in blue steel pans imported from Detroit.

The restaurant offers a variety of pizzas, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the 313, the Detroit Style Chicken Pesto, and the Little Rose. They also offer gluten-free options, salads, and appetizers such as the Good Dog (cheesy garlic bread) and Eggplant Parmesan.

Blue Pan Pizza has received positive reviews for its food and service, with some customers specifically praising their ricotta cheese. The restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, with Guy Fieri describing their pizza as "dynamite".

The signature characteristic of Detroit-style pizza is its caramelized crust

Blue Pan Pizza is a pizzeria located in Denver, Colorado, that specialises in serving award-winning Detroit-style pizza.

Detroit-style pizza is characterised by its caramelised crust, which is achieved through a combination of specific ingredients and cooking methods. The crust is thick, crisp, and chewy, with a unique lacy, crispy edge known as frico. This edge is formed when the cheese used in the pizza, typically Wisconsin brick cheese or a similar alternative, melts and caramelises against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan.

The pans used for Detroit-style pizza are an integral part of the cooking process. Originally, these pizzas were baked in rectangular blue steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. Today, specialised Detroit-style pizza pans are available, typically made of anodized aluminium with black surfaces for better conduction.

The cheese is spread to the edges of the pan, allowing it to melt and form a crispy, browned crust. The high-fat content of the brick cheese is key, as the butterfat drips down into the pan, frying the crust and giving it a distinctive buttery flavour.

In addition to the cheese and pan, the dough and sauce also play a role in creating the signature caramelised crust. The dough is made with high-hydration bread flour, which contributes to the chewy texture of the crust. It is stretched and shaped to fit the pan, ensuring an even coverage of cheese along the edges. The sauce, a sweet and heavily seasoned tomato-based sauce, is added on top of the cheese, creating a barrier that allows the cheese to melt and caramelise against the pan.

The combination of these elements—the specialised pan, the high-fat cheese, the dough, and the sauce—come together to create the signature caramelised crust of Detroit-style pizza, a unique and delicious variation of this beloved dish.

Blue Pan Pizza also serves Chicago and New York-style pizzas

Blue Pan Pizza is a funky pizza joint in Denver, Colorado, that serves award-winning Detroit-style pizza. The restaurant is named after the autoparts pan that a man from Sicily used while trying to recreate Sicilian-style pizza in Michigan. The signature characteristic of Detroit-style pizza is its caramelized crust, which is achieved by using a unique blend of brick, white cheddar, and whole milk mozzarella cheeses.

New York-style pizza, meanwhile, typically has a thinner crust than Chicago-style deep-dish pizza but a thicker crust than Chicago-style thin-crust pizza. New York-style pizza is also known for its hand-tossed dough, which gives it a less uniform crust than Chicago-style thin-crust pizza, which is rolled out or made with a mechanical sheeter.

Blue Pan Pizza offers 16" Chicago Cracker and 16" New York-style pizzas, in addition to its award-winning Detroit-style pies. The restaurant also offers gluten-free options in both 13" round and small Detroit-style sizes.

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