Rant

[Gringoboy]

Never underestimate a Pizza Hut. I hope to be sampling one or two on my next visit home (UK)

 

[Girino]

I know not all of them were responses to my posts but I'll through in my 2cents.

1) Semolina in its traditional form is just a coarse grind of a specific type of wheat. "Trigo Candeal" I use this on my peel when making pizza instead of cornmeal which is the traditional choice. This coarse semolina is great in pizza dough, as is. There is another "semola" here though, which is a much finer grind of "trigo candeal". This is flour, you can use it as such. Not sure of the exact numbers because mine is in a jar and the packaging is long gone, but it's usually 12-13% protein. If you're using coarse semolina try in a 1:2 ratio with 000. If you're using the fine ground, 1:1 or 2:1. I usually go half and half just because it's more expensive than the precio cuidado alternative and harder to find.

As for working the dough. Impossible to tell you an amount of time; way too many variables. In your case the answer is most likely to be "more time than you're currently doing". Baking is 50% science 40% percent technique 10% hippy love and 75% bullshit. I know that my love of eating is real, but I have know idea which of the 100s of "Rules" I subscribe to are real science/beneficial techniques vs complete bullshit.

2) Pizza dough with 100% whole wheat flour is very unappealing. In a lower proportion I think that it's just going to be slightly less unappealing I wouldn't look this way for your holy grail.

3) Caputo is a great flour, I used it all the time when I lived in the US. That said I think the idea of importing flour sounds incredibly absurd, even if you own a pizzeria.

4) I like the fior di latte mozzarella from La Salamandra http://www.lasalamandra.com.ar as far as widely available grocery store options go. If I'm really trying to impress, I'll make it myself; mozzarella is not difficult.

edit: re:freezing pizza. You can freeze the dough un shaped or shaped. I've never had much luck with working with the thawed dough but know people who make it work. I'm definitely in the parbake and freeze camp when it comes to pre-made crusts, it's not the same as fresh but it's great for a quick meal.

1) In a dietetica they gave me what I think it is semolin (they asked me what did I need it for, and I replied pasta) and it was like a flour, indeed very good to make pasta (20%). Then I decided to buy some at Carrefour, but instead I bought semola (candeal, mezcla, Carrefour brand) which is too coarse in pasta. I still have 3/4th of package to go, maybe I'll try some gnocchi alla romana to make it go quickly.

2) Really? It is all the rage in Italy. Fancy pizzerias now offer the dough made with various ingredients, the plain one, the whole wheat one, with cereals, with linen seeds, special without gluten, with 'nduja (spicy salame from Calabria), with black rice flour, with kamut flour, with buckwheat flour, etc. I like to try heavier doughs, they add something when the topping is loaded with ingredients, as well as texture when chewing.

3) I never actually tried Caputo, not sure they have it in Italy. Anyway in Italy I was able to get decent results with the cheap flour, so why the worry?

4) I never tried making mozzarella at home, never investigated into the matter. You know, never had the problem until now - will look into it! I have to confess that the first times I used the polpetta how they call it here, but it is quite expensive and the last two times I bought it, it was tasting funny (I suspect the refrigeration chain was broken at some point).

Last time I used the Argentinian mozzarella (a fresh cut from Coto), and it was okay when melt. We have the same mozzarella as here in Italy, it is called "mozzarella per pizza" and it is a cheaper option to be used only when making pizza. Personally, I always used the regular mozzarella, the cheapest available or so, which was even cheaper than the mozzarella per pizza.

5) About the tomato sauce: here I am using Inca and sometimes Jumbo (but I filter the water). I plan on trying to make tomato sauce after next summer, but it is a great deal of work when done properly. You have to find the right tomatoes, boil them to peel them, pass them in the strainer, eventually cook the sauce to remove the excess of water, boil the jars, boil the filled jars, etc.

Last year we made our own sauce with 12 kg of tomatoes from our own veggie garden, but it was quite a job and I am always worried about botulin.

For the record, I am currently following this recipe. It worked fine in Italy and I am trying to make it work here.

 

[Matiasba]

Pizza Hut = junk food

 

[Gringoboy]

Pizza Hut = junk food