Italian "00" flour continued.....
Well....here is the final chapter...maybe/probably in the Italian "00" imported flour Saga. I have made the "00" pizza crust with pretty much the same consistency as the crust made with King Arthur Unbleached bread flour. The "00" flour makes the crust with a bit more bite (al dente?), but it's barely noticeable, but mentionable. I used the same formula for both crusts, but the Italian "00" uses one Tablespoon of olive oil instead of two like I use with the King Arthur. I'm not sure the Italian flour likes olive oil added??? I have to say......the Italian flour does have flavor and scent that is noticeable. Especially when the baked product reaches that point in the oven when the aroma drifts into the house....The Italian flour has an aroma that is unique.....These pizza crusts are 75% hydration.
When my stash of Italian "00" flour is finished, I probably will not order any time soon in spite of the flavor....it's a bit expensive to mail order the Italian flour......
The first photo is the Italian "00" crust, the second photo is the King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour. I have to say....I haven't tried all the European flours (of course), but I'm not sure they have any advantage over our American flours in texture of finished product. The perfect crust would be King Arthur texture with Italian "00" flavor......it must be something in the soil..or maybe it's the particular strain of wheat that's used. Caputo states in their website that they use flour from many places to mill....maybe it's not just Italian soil, but maybe the strain of wheat.....This would be a great study for a company like King Arthur to research.....maybe get American farmers to use some European strains of wheat to produce or coax some different qualities from our flours.