The Pizza Therapy Forum and Pasta Therapy Forum

[pizza]

I got an email from Lars. He is from Sweden.

He writes:

"I still have problems that the edges getting to hard (really hard).
Should want them little more soft, but since the pizzeria don't put oil or
something like that and still get soft edges it probably something I still
miss, but don't know what."

I suggested that maybe he is leaving his pizza in the oven a little to long.

Also I suggested he may try to use bread flour for a softer dough...

Does anyone else have a suggestion for Lars?

Thanks in advance...
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[dfandreatta]

I would wonder what dough recipe he uses. It is entirely possible that the crust is harder around the edges because the toppings would tend to hold moisture. Leaving the pizza in too long, baking at too low a temperature, etc. could cause that, as well as the entire process of kneading and preparing the dough.

The idea of using a different flour is good. I am a relative neophyte, and not an expert on dough by any means. I do think, however, that there are a number of factors that might be in play here. More information on how he does what he does would certainly help find the solution!
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"Papa Don"
Apollo Beach, Florida

[chefrockyrd]

Well... the harder outside crust could be a combination of things.

One could be the flour, like you said. Bleached flour could be the culprit, I would love to know what he is using. Or it could just be the type they get there.

Or he is making the outside crust thin, then cooking a long time to get the rest of the pizza/fillings cooked which is too long for the outer edge.

I was once staying at a friends house for the weekend and baked up a bunch of stuff for them.
They redid their kitchen and have a large bin under the counter with about 50lbs of flour in it. They "claim" do a lot of bread. So I just dove into it.
Practically everything I made came out SO different than it usually does and at first I could not figure out why. I was assuming that it was unbleached flour.

Home made pasta was just awful. Even with all the eggs it was white and the texture was way off.

Pizza crust was compressed and cakey at the same time. Not chewy, just hard.

Muffins baked fresh in the morning were ok if eaten right after they were baked but later in the day, they were door stops.

I dragged the bin out and lifted the big paper bag out and it was BLEACHED flour they got on sale at one of the big box stores.
Its not the cllimate either- as I now live right down the road from them and everything bakes up fine at my place.

I find that US bleached flour is good for pastries and is the closest thing to european flour that I learned to do desserts with. But the pizza or bread needs more gluten.
Maybe he could add some plain gluten to his flour? Like 1/3 cup gluten to each cup of regular flour. That is how much I add to make rye or heartier breads.

chefrockyrd