BREAD FLOUR, OR OTHER "STRONG FLOUR" IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON FLOURS USED IN PIZZA IN THE USA. STRONG FLOUR MEANS IT HAS A RELATIVELY HIGH PROTEIN CONTENT, AROUND 12-13% OFTENTIMES.
IN ITALY, THIS IS EXPRESSED AS A "W-RATING". A W OF 300 IS STRONG, 180-250 IS SOFT/WEAK FLOUR.
STRONG/BREAD TYPE FLOUR IS ALSO CALLED "MANITOBA FLOUR" IN ITALY. THIS IS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF CANADIAN FLOUR IN ITALY FOLLOWING WORLD WAR 2. MUCH OF IT WAS GROWN/PRODUCED IN THE MANITOBA REGION, THUS THIS ASPECT OF THE IT BECAME THE NAMESAKE.
SEE THE ARTICLE BELOW FOR MORE ON THE TERM MANITOBA FLOUR.
THIS FLOUR IS FINELY MILLED AND RELATIVELY HIGH IN PROTEIN.
IT IS A TRADITIONAL WAY TO PREPARE FLOUR FOR PIZZA AND PASTA DOUGH IN ITALY. CAPUTO MILLS PRODUCES A WONDERFUL RANGE OF ITALIAN TYPE 00 FLOURS.
KIND ARTHUR BAKING AND BOB'S RED MILL ALSO NOW PROVIDE TYPE 00 FLOUR, IT CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE.
SEMOLINA FLOUR IS A BEAUTIFUL YELLOW, IT IS MADE OF DURUM WHEAT, IS VARIES IN HOW COARSE OR FINE IT IS. YOU WILL OFTEN FIND SEMOLINA DI GRANO DURO OR SEMOLINA RIMACINATA WITH THE LATTER BEING FINER GROUND. SEMOLINA IS RELATIVELY HIGH IN PROTEIN.
WHEN THEY REFER TO SEMOLINA IN A GENERAL TERM IN THE USA, THEY USUALLY MEAN SOMETHING MORE COARSE THAN DI GRANO DURO OR RIMACINATA.
SEMOLINA CAN BE USED IN PIZZA, PASTA, DESSERTS, AND MORE. I LIKE TO USE SEMOLINA IN PART IN MY PIZZA DOUGH. I THINK IT GIVES IT A NICE TEXTURE.
VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN IS ESSENTIALLY THE REFINED PROTEIN IN FLOUR IN A POWDER FORM. YOU ADD ABOUT 1/2 TB PER CUP OF FLOUR IN MOST RECIPES. IT RAISES THE PROTEIN CONTENT AND HELPS DEVELOP THE GLUTEN. THIS CAN MAKE DOUGH EASIER TO STRETCH, MORE DURABLE, AND GIVE IT A BETTER RISE AND STRUCTURE.
DIASTATIC MALT IS A POWDER MADE FROM SPROUTED GRAINS, USUALLY BARLEY. THIS IS DONE SO THAT THE ENZYMES IN THE GRAINS ARE "ACTIVE". THESE ACTIVE ENZYMES HELP CAUSE FAVORABLE CHEMICAL REATIONS WITH THE FLOUR. ESSENTIALLY, IT HELPS MAKE THE FLOUR MORE "DIGESTIBLE" FOR THE YEAST. IT HELPS CREATE A GREAT CHEWY TEXTURE, STRONG BREAD, AND A GOOD CRUST. USE SPARINGLY, ABOUT 1/2 - 1 TSP PER 3 CUPS OF FLOUR.
I LIKE IT IN PIZZA, DONUTS, BAGELS, PRETZELS, ROLLS, AND BREADS.