I’m from Michigan originally, and it still amazes me that people spend time arguing about New York versus Chicago pizza when this question has been definitively answered for almost a century: neither one, you should be eating Detroit pizza. Rectangular pan pizza where the cheese goes out to the edge, making a beautiful browned crust, and the fat in the cheese (Wisconsin brick, to be genuine) melts down into the bottom of the pan and gives you a crispy slightly-fried crust? Yes, please! And if you don’t live somewhere where you can get Detroit-style pizza (sorry, Pizza Hut, your pizza was fine, but we can do better), why not try making it at home?

Perfect Pan Pizza by Peter Reinhart

The introduction to this book mentions both Buddy’s Pizza (which is where Detroit-style pizza originated) and Jet’s Pizza (which is the Detroit-based chain that took it nationwide), so you know the author knows what he’s talking about. I think this book has the best crust recipe that I’ve tried, and you can mix things up with some non-Detroit-style pan pizzas if you want, too!

The Pizza Bible by Tony Gemignani

If you want a little more flexibility, this book covers a whole bunch of different ways to make pizza. It goes into depth on the various techniques, so I’d also say that it’s great for anyone who doesn’t have much (or any) experience with yeast baking or pizza making. Plus, who doesn’t want to eat their way through all the different types of pizza to determine what their favorite is?

Big Flavors From Italian America

I haven’t tried the pizza from this new (2020) cookbook yet, but this was put out by America’s Test Kitchen, and I’ve had very good luck with their recipes in the past. And since it’s not just a pizza cookbook, you could even not eat pizza every day, if that’s the kind of life you want to live!