Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Try Some Italian Flour - You'll Like It
I first tried Italian tipo 00 flour in the fall while writing the Complete Idiot's Guide to Pizza and Panini (coming out this summer). I was impressed with how easily the dough handled. Well, the other day I was making some fresh pasta and used it. The results impressed my wife, which is not easy to do. Then again, I also tried making it without egg - just water and some olive oil added to the flour. That's not what you'll find in most recipes, but check the ingredients list on commercial pasta and you probably won't see egg there.
Tipo 00 differs from American flour in a number of ways. The Italian version is more finely ground and seems generally lower in gluten (the protein in flour that adds the elasticity to dough). I've tried two types that I've been able to find: Antico Molina Caputo and Belaria. A 1 kilogram (roughly 2.2 pounds) is only a few dollars. If you find yourself wanting some home made pasta (or even pizza) and don't have any handy, try mixing 11 parts cake flour to 1 part bread flour (for example, 2 3/4 cups cake to 1/4 cup bread). You get the soft feel and the bread flour adds a little extra gluten, because you will want to stretch that dough.
Tipo 00 differs from American flour in a number of ways. The Italian version is more finely ground and seems generally lower in gluten (the protein in flour that adds the elasticity to dough). I've tried two types that I've been able to find: Antico Molina Caputo and Belaria. A 1 kilogram (roughly 2.2 pounds) is only a few dollars. If you find yourself wanting some home made pasta (or even pizza) and don't have any handy, try mixing 11 parts cake flour to 1 part bread flour (for example, 2 3/4 cups cake to 1/4 cup bread). You get the soft feel and the bread flour adds a little extra gluten, because you will want to stretch that dough.
