Not all flours are suitable for preparing the same type of products and one of the reasons is precisely the different strength of the flours. Let's see what use the different categories and varieties lend themselves to and how to choose.
The amount of water absorbed and the higher protein content make the dough with strong flour more resistant and tenacious, increasing the resistance to yeast and allowing a longer fermentation.
For this reason, weak flours are used for low fermentation doughs and foods rich in nutrients (vitamins, fibers and mineral salts): pastries, biscuits, sweet cakes, waffles and bread sticks.
Medium strength flours are used to prepare French and Italian bread, olive oil sandwiches, products that are generally characterized by a good amount of nutrients and a medium yeast and fermentation.
We come to the strong flours. The more tenacious, elastic and gluten-rich flours are used for most baked goods, such as bread, pizza and focaccia, but also for cakes, brioches and naturally leavened cakes.
If you like to use natural ferments, you have to try these pizzas:
🍏 🍎
PIZZA MARGARITA WITH SOUR DOUGH
FOCACCIA HIGH HYDRATION FERMENTATION 24 HOURS
FOCACCIA WITH POOLISH AND SOY FLOUR
FOCACCIA WITH BIGA AND POOLISH FERMENTATION 36 HOURS
SWEET MULTI-CEREAL PIZZA FERMENTATION 48 HOURS
Finally, the special flours. Strong flour is mainly used to reinforce weaker flours or to produce particular breads or sweets, such as pandoro, panettone and colombas.
All the flours described below, according to our opinion, mixed in the right proportion, give us the unique opportunity to make dough with more personalized nutrients for our day-to-day diet.
There are refined, whole, oatmeal, soy with or without gluten, each with a particular set of characteristics and nutrients that help our health.
Learning to use alternative flours to wheat is useful to assimilate different nutrients and allows you to revisit more traditional recipes in a healthier way with wonderfully delicious results.
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1▷Wholemeal flour.
Pizza recipe with whole wheat flour
Wholemeal flour-based doughs are characterized by the use of wholemeal flours mixed with normal wheat-type flours with a medium strength that contain 12 GR-14 GR of protein.
It is quite difficult to work with wholemeal flour, because the large amount of fiber does not allow gluten to bind so easily, so it is important to know how to balance the amount well, a balanced percentage is between 35%-55% depending on the fermentation and the final product that you want to obtain.
2▷Kamut flour.
Kamut is a registered trademark of the American company Kamut International, which has now become a common term to identify Khorasan wheat (also called turanicum or oriental wheat).
Kamut is a durum wheat originating in Egypt and one of the first wheats that existed, it is a wheat that has not undergone genetic manipulation. It contains gluten, therefore, it is not suitable for coeliacs; Kamut wheat flour is especially suitable for athletes, thanks to the presence of selenium, zinc, magnesium and vitamin E. L.
Pizza and bread doughs with this cereal will not be as leavened and fluffy as those made with 100% wheat because kamut doughs do not absorb much water.
Dough recipe with Kamut flour to see the recipe enter here
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3▷Multi-cereal flours.
Pizza recipe with multi-cereal flour
This dough is obtained by using wheat flour with a medium strength that contains 12 GR -14 GR of protein to which small percentages of wholemeal flour are added and other cereals, such as barley, rye, spelled and oats can also be Oilseeds such as flax, sesame, pumpkin, millet and sunflower are present.
These flour mixes are designed to enrich our dough with nutritional elements.
In addition to providing various benefits for a healthy diet, multi-cereal flour gives a particular flavor to pizza and bread, with a rustic and very pleasant appearance.
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4▷ Spelled flour.
Primarily used in both white and wholemeal versions of pizza and bread dough, spelled is a close ancestor of modern wheat and as such displays similar characteristics in the mixing phase, with the exception of a lower water absorption similar to that of Kamut and cooking times.
Compared to Normal Wheat. Spelled flour, with due precautions, can be used in purity.
In most elaborations, spelled flour is usually mixed, a recommended percentage is between 40%-60% mixed with a medium-strength wheat flour that contains between 12 and 14 GR of protein per 100 GR of flour, this mixture It will provide greater softness to the final product.
Spelled-based doughs are very similar to regular wheat doughs with an elastic crumb and crispy edge.
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5▷Hemp flour.
Hemp sativa flour, derived from the processing of hemp seeds, is usually added to pizza dough in percentages that do not exceed 15%/20% of the total.
This highly protein flour gives the dough a flavor reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts as well as an increase in nutritional properties thanks to the richness of essential amino acids and antioxidant elements and omegas-3.
Hemp flour does not contain gluten and unlike soy and legume flours, you do not produce gases when consuming it.
The mixture obtained also has a greenish color that can lend itself to particular color combinations depending on the chosen coverage and its final use.
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6▷Flour with activated charcoal.
Pizza recipe with activated carbon
Charcoal is a food additive that has been talked about a lot in recent years due to its massive presence on the market thanks to its multipurpose properties that range from cooking to the world of fermented products.
In the field of pizza, charcoal is added in small percentages to the dough flour to give the characteristic black color.
Charcoal in the right percentages does not modify the flavor of the dough and provides a very attractive way of presenting new recipes and products that attract the eyes of consumers, especially when playing with various colors.
7▷Soy flour.
Soy flour does not contain gluten so it is suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Really excellent for all those who follow a vegetarian diet, very rich in protein, excellent for making bread, pizza and focaccia mixed in small percentages that can vary from 8% to 25% with high strength wheat flour.
Compared to chickpea and lentil flour, soy flour contains starch in smaller amounts, which makes it much more digestible and there are many pizza makers who add a little soy flour to their dough.
All people who suffer from diabetes know very well the benefits of this plant, they think that its glycemic index is equal to 25, while that of wheat flour reaches 85.
Soybeans have a high protein content, they need a prolonged fermentation in the fridge, depending on the percentage of added soybeans, it can take up to 40-72 hours.
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8▷Oatmeal.
Oats (whole grain or refined) are obtained by grinding the whole or shelled seeds of the plant.
It is a food with a low glycemic index, therefore, suitable for the production of food for diabetics.
It has a high content of vitamin B1 and zinc and is very rich in fiber and mineral salts.
For the preparation of pizza and bread we can use 100% oatmeal in the dough or mix it between 40&-60% with a medium strength wheat flour and the result will be very similar to a normal pizza but a little healthier .
9▷ CORN FLOUR.
Corn flour does not contain gluten.
To make pizza, bread and focaccia we recommend using yellow cornmeal (the one used to make polenta).
It is recommended to use it between 8% and 16% mixed with wheat flour with a medium strength, in this way the final product will have a rustic and delicious finish much sought after by all lovers of homemade dough.
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10▷RICE FLOUR.
RICE flour does not contain gluten.
The doughs that contain a percentage of rice flour absorb more water and it is an advantage if you want to freeze the pizza and focaccias, since when you put it back in the oven they will be fluffy and delicious as freshly made
Rice flour can be mixed with any flour that contains gluten, the recommended percentage is between 5%-15%.
11▷VEGETABLE FLOUR.
In the baking of pizza and bread in general, the use of flours from legumes, peas, chickpeas, lentils, beans is gaining more and more prominence.
Mixed Together with excellent wheat flours, possibly whole or slightly processed, the addition of 15%-35% of legume flours will make your product richer, tastier and healthier thanks to its richness in proteins, mineral salts and antioxidants,
They are low in calories, ideal for healthy dishes and healthy diets.
If you also add seeds such as sesame, sunflower, chia, flax, pumpkin or poppy you will get delicious doughs with a special point.
If you have to make gluten-free bread, for example, in this case also the flours, especially chickpeas and lentils, will help the yeast.
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