Lean and Chewy crust attempt
I picked up some pasta flour the other day because it said it was a combination of wheat grain and semolina. I’ve been looking for semolina to see what effect it would have on the “bite” of the dough. Today I added pasta flour to my dough at about 15% flour weight.
In addition, I bought some dried egg whites because I had read that it helps the crust to brown. Brown crust has been eluding me for quite a while so I’ll give it a shot as well.
Here is the recipe I used:
13-5/8 oz Hi Gluten Flour
2-3/8 oz Pasta Flour (for the semolina content)
1 cup Water
2-1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp Salt
1 Tbl Dry Egg Whites (for crust browning)
I mixed everything in the bread maker then balled it. The dough ball was retarded in the refrigerator for 24 hours then stretched on a 16 inch pizza screen. I topped it with Neapolitan pepperoni and cheese and baked it at 480 degrees for 9 minutes.
The taste of the pizza was wonderful. The “bite” was definitely evident. I really enjoyed the texture of the slice. The crust rim seemed a bit dense, but this has been the case for quite a while (larger voids and lighter crust rims might be my next mission). It even seemed to brown quite nicely. For now, I will attribute the browning to the addition of the egg whites.
In general I feel like I am getting to know the ingredients and their effects on the final product. I still do not have my crust the way I really want it. I am having a blast and eating a lot of really good pizza as I go, and that’s what really counts!
