Tipo 00 Flour
I've been on a quest to find Tipo 00 flour and I finally "scored" some on the very day that a post appeared about "what's the big deal about Tipo 00 flour?" and most people said it was a waste. I've always had great timing!
Anyway, I really wanted to try it because I'm not happy with my pizza dough. I find it a bit too elastic, and wanted increased extensibility for shaping and texture. But, armed with the comments on the post referenced above (which I now cannot find!), I decided to go "halfsies" and replace only half the flour in Peter Reinhart's Neo Neopolitan dough with the Tipo 00--the rest was unbleached AP flour.
I've been finding the Neo Neopolitan dough very sticky to handle--that would be OK with a boule but not so easy with pizza. And the dough has been too thin, it's torn too easily and been very difficult to shape.
I was very pleased with the addition of the Tipo 00 flour. I found the dough less sticky and easier to handle. Despite the lower protein content, the gluten seemed to form right away and work nicely. I got my best windowpane EVER. It was really telling that I got beautifully round pizzas (instead of amoebas) without tearing, and the crust had just the right thickness I've been seeking (not too thin, not too thick). It had a lovely flavor!
I parbake my pizza crusts so they don't get too soggy (I like to really load on the vegies), and without docking they puffed up like pitas. I'm going to try this flour for pita next, because I'm very unsatisfied with my pita efforts--they are always very heavy and tough. I think the Tipo 00 will help those too.
It's pricey--I payed $3.29 for a 2.2 lb bag. But, it's fun to work with and I was happy with the results.