A question about a recipe: The Dancer That Pizza Built: Margherita on the Bahbie

Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added over 1 year ago

I cannot speak for boulangere but I can tell you from experience that the cake flour in this recipe yields a tender, light crust that is one of the best I have ever had. I made this yesterday, the addition of cake flour intrigued me so I gave it a try and I thought it was amazing. You should try it, I know you will love the results. I am sure boulangere will weigh in on why, but she is a master at bread making and I have never been disappointed with one of her recipes.

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added over 1 year ago

I can't answer that one as I'm not the author of the recipe. However I always use a high gluten flour and make the dough a day ahead. I hold it in the fridge overnight in clingwrap. Personally I like a sturdy and elastic dough, especially when I'm cooking it surrounded by high heat.

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TiggyBee added over 1 year ago

It's my experience that cake flour makes a softer dough and then it crisps up better when you bake it.

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Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added over 1 year ago

I agree with TiggyBee, it does yield a softer dough. I did not make it on the bahbie but in the oven on my cast iron pizza stone. It was tender but crisped nicely a real stand out pizza crust in my opinion.

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Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.

added over 1 year ago

Sorry, this one got by me. I include cake flour, as sdebrango and tiggybee explain, because it results in a tender dough that is very easily pressed and stretched with out toughening up and fighting back. When baked, it's that fantastic combination of thin, yet tender. Bread flour, as pierino aptly notes, will give you a more elastic dough and a thicker crust. And using a good hot stone in the oven is just fine. When I posted this, I was just back from France and Italy, in the latter of which I felt practically roasted alive, and it was over 100 degrees at home as well. I could barely stand the heat of making coffee in the morning.

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That definitely makes sense, thanks everyone!

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Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.

added over 1 year ago

Oh, good to know. Thanks!

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added over 1 year ago

boulangere is the real baker. I'm just the pizzaiolo.

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Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.

added over 1 year ago

"just". Yeah, right, pierino.

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