storrsroars
Exiled in Pittsburgh
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2012
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I've made Detroit style and pan pizzas with all purpose flour with no issues. "NY street style" recipes I've had success with use a combo of AP and bread flours. Neopolitans are a different story and pretty much require 00 flour.
Two major variables in flour are the grind ("00" is the finest) and the protein (gluten) level. For pizza making, here are some basic ranges:
00 flour = 8%-10% protein content
All purpose flour = 9%=11% protein content
Bread flour = 11%-13% protein content
If you want a stickier, chewier crust (higher gluten/protein), there are cheats regarding hydration, heat, and use of vital gluten where you can make a lower-protein flour act more like a higher protein one. If you've got a powerful blender, you can also toss your AP flour in there and perhaps get an even finer grind.
As far as the best crust I've made, I've used Chris Bianco's recipe using bread flour a number of times. I've never tried that with AP flour, but I imagine you could get close using AP flour with some vital gluten tossed in.
However, the simplest cheat I know of - and one I've used often - is TJ's refrigerated pizza dough. Let it come to room temp before you start working with it, and a pizza docker is very useful in getting it to a really thin crust (TJs dough comes in a 1 lb package which I'll separate into two balls, an 8 oz ball is capable of making a 13" inch thin crust pizza). When I'm using TJs, I'm usually using a pan in my convection oven, not a stone in the big oven. I oil the pan and will also drizzle some oil on the stretched out dough before adding sauce/cheese/toppings.
Two major variables in flour are the grind ("00" is the finest) and the protein (gluten) level. For pizza making, here are some basic ranges:
00 flour = 8%-10% protein content
All purpose flour = 9%=11% protein content
Bread flour = 11%-13% protein content
If you want a stickier, chewier crust (higher gluten/protein), there are cheats regarding hydration, heat, and use of vital gluten where you can make a lower-protein flour act more like a higher protein one. If you've got a powerful blender, you can also toss your AP flour in there and perhaps get an even finer grind.
As far as the best crust I've made, I've used Chris Bianco's recipe using bread flour a number of times. I've never tried that with AP flour, but I imagine you could get close using AP flour with some vital gluten tossed in.
However, the simplest cheat I know of - and one I've used often - is TJ's refrigerated pizza dough. Let it come to room temp before you start working with it, and a pizza docker is very useful in getting it to a really thin crust (TJs dough comes in a 1 lb package which I'll separate into two balls, an 8 oz ball is capable of making a 13" inch thin crust pizza). When I'm using TJs, I'm usually using a pan in my convection oven, not a stone in the big oven. I oil the pan and will also drizzle some oil on the stretched out dough before adding sauce/cheese/toppings.
