Dough digestibility: some pizza are different!
What makes a pizza more or less digestible? From rising to toppings, our tips for a light, and tasty, pizza.
If there is one thing that finds pizza lovers all in agreement, it is undoubtedly its digestibility! Whether it is pizza in a pan, al piatto, alla romana or alla napoletana, the main characteristic that determines the fact of being in front of an excellent pizza, is the lightness and digestibility of the dough.
But what is the secret to a digestible and light pizza?
More than secrets, let’s talk about factors that can affect the digestibility of what is one of the signature dishes of Italian food culture:
60% a dough made with a good leavening and maturation process
at 20% the use of quality products
to 10% the good drafting of the pizza
to 10% proper baking
Compared to the better known leavening process, dough maturation is based on a principle that makes it really special and that, in most cases, determines the difference in the result: slowness. The longer the time that separates the kneading phase from the baking phase, the greater the presence of amino acids (which are the smallest part of proteins) and glucose (the smallest part of complex sugar or starch) within the dough. This means that, the enzymes that break down protein and complex sugar will have had many hours to break down into very small parts what would otherwise be “indigestible” to our bodies. The ideal time, in fact, for a good “Maturation ” is a slow leavening of 24/36 hours (preferably in the refrigerator at 2/4 degrees).
In fact, having a dough rich in amino acids and simple sugars, baked at a high temperature as in the case of pizza, makes it possible to obtain a light, digestible product with an intense aroma.
If we add to these basic rules the fact that the dough should always be made with the highest quality flours, preferably obtained from selected grains of superior quality standard, then we will be sure that the result will be guaranteed: a very good, light and digestible pizza.
Molino sul Clitunno, always attentive to market demands and consumer welfare, has developed a wide range of pizza flours and mixes designed to meet all the needs of professional pizza makers and home-made pizza enthusiasts. Specialty flours that can cover all types of dough and leavening, with the goal of providing performance of the highest technical level.
Another fundamental aspect is the pizza maker’s skill in rolling out the dough: it is absolutely forbidden to violently crush and close the “microbubbles” that form during the leavening and ripening process. This is a very important step, because it is these micro-bubbles of air that allow heat to pass evenly through the dough and transform the starches into “crumb,” making the product highly digestible. Here, then, that baking also plays an important role, because if the pizza is rolled out well and baked optimally and evenly, the stomach acids in our bodies will “digest” the dough much more quickly and easily.
The Choice of Topping
Whatever type of “topping” we chose for our pizza, this will have an important impact on the digestibility and quality of the final product. Making an “optimal” dough but not using top-notch products to top our pizza will negate the work of leavening, ripening and baking. This concerns both the choice of tomato (the basis of the most well-known pizza varieties), mozzarella and other ingredients. The former should be a balanced product from the point of view of acidity, (a secret is to add a pinch of sugar or bicarbonate to the passata or peeled tomatoes, always of excellent quality, to reduce their acidity), but the mozzarella should also be compact, fresh and dry to prevent it from releasing too much liquid during cooking so as not to “wet” the dough. A good trick is to leave it out of the refrigerator and wrap it in kitchen paper towels before placing it on the dough. Finally, the oil, strictly extra virgin olive oil to ensure not only a harmonious taste, but also a valuable ally of well-being for our diet.
WE LOVE PIZZA !
