Woodward Authentic Detroit Style Pizza

Owners Kyle Schultz and Keith Kochan

By Laura Beam

If you’ve been wondering where to find the most superb deep dish pizza, the answer is Detroit, MI. But thanks to two guys from Detroit who hated long, cold winters and moved to Oklahoma, you can now find this incredible pizza in Edmond. In March, Keith Kochan and Kyle Schultz opened Woodward Pizza at the Ice House in Downtown Edmond. Kochan says, “We chose Edmond because its downtown is on the leading edge of revitalization.” It hasn’t taken long for the co-owners’ combined pizzeria experience, corporate ingenuity, and drive to create authentic, Detroit-style pizza to catch on, in a big way.

The rectangular pizza, or ‘square’ as they call it in Detroit, is thick but light and crispy in all the right places. High-grade Wisconsin cheese runs all the way to the edges, giving it that iconic caramelized bite.

Dough Done Right

Knowing the importance of creating the perfect dough, and inspired by Buddy’s Pizza, ”the Godfather of Detroit pizza,” Kochan says, Schultz and Kochan spent two years perfecting their dough recipe. “We tried lots of versions of a dozen different flours before settling on a blend of two,” Schultz recalls. “From the double ovens at my house, we would make pizzas and share them with neighbors.” Along with helpful feedback, they certainly made many friends too. Who doesn’t want to live next door to the pizza guy?!

“We make the dough like an artisan focaccia and it’s more than a 24-hour process,” Schultz reveals. Somewhere amid the mixing, hand-stretching, folding, proofing, balling, and rolling, something magical happens. Not only is the light, yeasty flavor outstanding, but the texture is a true masterpiece–deep but full of airy pockets, caramelized and crisped. They even add the sauce after the pizza comes out of the oven to keep the weight off the crust and maintain its airy appeal.

Top That

A dough this special deserves nothing but top-notch ingredients and cooking techniques. “We try to do everything a little differently so that the pizza comes up greater than the sum of its parts,” Schultz says. “We use raw, hand-pinched sausage to make it thin so it cooks all the way through and infuses the pizza with flavor,” he explains.

Kochan says the most popular pizza is the Detroiter. “It features cup-shaped pepperonis that curl up in the oven and char slightly. Seasoned ricotta is piped on and fresh basil is added before cooking so it flavors the pizza as it cooks,” he describes. The second most popular item is the cheese pizza that customers use to build their own creations. The Trippple XXXtra Pepperoni is also a highlight, “which actually has four or five times more pepperoni than a regular pepperoni pizza,” Kochan comments. The extra mozzarella on this one is a cheese lover’s dream, too. Another menu favorite, Woodward’s breadsticks, are served with a delicious cream cheese garlic dip and are the perfect sidekick to your favorite draft beer, craft cocktail, or wine.

Cruise in, Kick Back

Named after Detroit’s famous Woodward Ave., where the epic, annual Woodward Dream Cruise automotive event takes place, Woodward Pizza sports fun signage and designs that transport a feel of the Motor City to Edmond. A cool, industrial mood finds friends gathering for drinks and moms hanging out while the kids play in the spacious courtyard of the Ice House development. A nostalgic mix of music videos from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s gives this urban hangout an entertaining blast from the past that leaves you humming all the way home with your leftover pizza. Visit Woodward Pizza at Edmond Ice House, 119 W. 2nd St., Ste 100, or woodwardpizza.com.