Caputo Tipo OO pizza flour

PattyO

I made my first pizza with Caputo Tipo OO flour tonite. NOT on the egg, but on a stone in my oven. I always thought I made killer pizza so I wanted to do it my old way before adding the additional factor of the egg which I haven't yet done pizza on. It was amazing. Very light dough with lots of stretch and no tears. This made a super thin pizza but with a good chew, not a "cracker" like I've had before when ordering thin. It had great body, great taste and wonderful airpockets in the edge crust.
I used the recipe posted on this forum about pizza and I thank you sincerely for offering it. I used a simple crushed tomato sauce, fresh mushrooms and whole milk mozzarella and imported pepperoni. Next step, taking it out of my comfort zone and onto the egg. A new adventure.
PattyO

kricks

Glad you were successful. On to the EGG! Ah, the old scientific method. Which recipe did you use?


Kevin

PattyO

This was published on the forum a week ago and I don't remember who it was to thank properly. If your local Itaian specialty store doesn't carry it, www.pennmac.com ships from Pittsburgh, PA.

Pizza Crust 00 flour
Using Antico Molino Caputo Tipo 00 Pizza Flour
Use Caputo Tipo 00 flour the same way you would use either general purpose, or bread flour, though you will see a number of differences in how it behaves compared with American flours.
It hydrates very well. You will find yourself adding more water to your dough than you are accustomed. You want to make a moist, almost sticky dough. You can use flour to keep it from sticking to your hands or your work surface.
It is very silky and soft. You can make great pizza dough without adding olive oil. Experiment with added olive oil, but definitely try it without. If you are used to throwing your pizzas, you will see that the dough needs gentle handling.
It is very extensible. The flour is selected and milled to be easily shaped into a pizza base. You should not over work the dough. It will spring in the oven. The soft, well-hydrated, extensible dough will puff around the outside rim of the pizza where you do not have sauce.
And the taste is great.
Basic Vera Pizza Napoletana Dough Recipe

. 4 cups Molino Caputo Tipo 00 flour
. 1 ½ cups, plus 2-3 Tbs water
. 4 tsp salt
. 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

Mix the dough in a stand mixer, by hand or in a bread machine. If you are using a stand mixer, mix it slowly for two minutes, until you have made a ball. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, to allow the flour to absorb the water. Then, mix at a middle speed (3 or 4 on a KitchenAid) for 5 minutes, and slow for 2 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a slightly oiled bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until double. Punch it down and push out the air bubbles. Form the dough into a large ball, then cut it into 4-5 equal pieces.
To make your pizza balls, shape each piece of dough into a ball. Gently shape your dough into a ball, then stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball, until the outer layer wraps around the other side. Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer skin. Set your ball seam-side down where it can rest. Dust your pizza balls with flour, and store them under a damp towel, in a proofing tray, or under plastic wrap. This will prevent the outside of the ball from drying out and creating a crust, and becoming difficult to work with. The top of the pizza ball should be soft and silky.
Your pizza balls will need to rest for about an hour to become soft and elastic, so that they can be easily stretched into a thin crust pizza.
If you don't need your pizza balls for a few hours, you should refrigerate them, and bring them back out of the refrigerator an hour or so before you want to use them.
Try making your pizza balls the day before you need them. Overnight refrigeration helps the dough develop more flavor, and a fully developed dough browns better in your oven.

gdenby

Congratulations on your successful pizza. As a novice baker, I'm still astonished about how just changing brands of flour will make a different bread. I must get some 00 flour and see if that helps me into the realm of "almost enjoyable" pizza (so far, my pizza dough is unworthy.)

Like yourself, I'm edging my baking onto the Egg. I've been happy to find that once I have a recipe that works well in the oven, moving it to the Egg is pretty easy. In fact, the bread has come out better.