Caputo Flour Bag Question

[Prefessa]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Guys:

After nearly a year of seaching and reading how this is "The Holy Grail" of Pizza Flour...I finally got a case of the Chefs Farina in 1Kg Bags. It pretty much was the worse flour I ever used...sticky, gummy, slack and no matter what hydration, how long I autolysed, and how long or short or gentle I mixed it...it pretty much gave a rough dough that tears when stretched and sticks to the peel relentlessly.....This is like repackaged cake flour. I am not impressed. I guess the hastle I went though magnified the disapointment because I have used some disapointing brands in the past year.

I have tried many brands of Tipo 00 flour and by far this was the worse stuff I ever used. As much as I tried to contact Caputo via E-Mail, I have yet to get an answer.

Doing a bit of research I later learned that not all 00 flours are created equal....The ones that are used in Napoli have a fair percentage of American Hard Red Spring Wheat blended in to strengthen them. or the Pizzaolas blend the flour with Farina Manitoba(Hard Red Spring Wheat from the USA). Almost no one uses flour made with 100% Grana Tenero in Europe.

And Yes....its likely easier(and possibly Cheaper..LOL) to buy recreational drugs that to get this flour unless you own a pizzeria.

So To all that have toiled away trying to source this flour.....find a Tipo 00 Flour you are assured to get day in and day out...there are many...Barilla, Divella, San Felice...ect. and blend it yourself with American Flour (KA Sir Lancelot, All Trumps, Pendleton, Bouncer ect). No reason to pay for americian wheat to take a trip to Europe. Its what Pizzareas in Napoli do anyhow.

And Yes...the bag in the pic is from the Caputo "Cheese" Company. Antimo Caputo doesn't own the trademark Caputo in the USA so all their flours bear the Trademark "Napoli" by Molino Di Antimo Caputo.

I am certain there Pizzaria Flours must be great...like the variety they call Rienforzato, which has a Bread Making Index of W300 and a P/L of 0.55....But that stuff is even harder to find.

[RTflorida]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Les, a bit of advice. DO NOT believe it, if at any point, your daughter says she does not want a big wedding.
For the past 2-3 yrs she told us she did not want to go through all of the frustration and aggrevation of planning a wedding like several of her friends had.
14 months ago they announced they were getting married and simply wanted a honeymoon wedding - a vacation spot with only the groom's father & brother, my wife & I. I jumped at it, offering all of my points from a major hotel chain to cover air fare and the cost of any of there resort properties. They took me up on the offer and 800,000 points later, they had their dream honeymoon in Hawaii. Great so I thought, my wife and I lost our next big vacation but no wedding costs....whoopy!!!
Last July, she changed her mind...Dad I want my wedding. Holly Crap, my wife and I had just purchased a new vehicle, invested in a new business venture, and put about $10K into our house. What cash I had was gone......and she wants a wedding in 9 months. There was no fighting this one, my wife was instantly on her side. At the end of March we had a wonderful wedding, they had a great honeymoon, and dad has a maxed out, previously unused equity line to pay off during the next ??? years.

As bummed out as I may sound, I'm really as happy as a pig in shit. My son in law is truly a fantastic gentleman (he definitely makes my daughter a better person).

Good luck with yours

RT

[Les]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

I just popped for my daughter's wedding 6 weeks age........I'm broke for life, seriously.

I'm dreading that day as well. I keep suggesting an in and out wedding at some Elvis chapel in Vegas, but that's not gonna happen...

[RTflorida]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Umm, lets see. Air fare, hotel, tons of cash for stuff I want but don't need, all to save on shipping charges incured twice a year. Sounds logical and I could really use the vacation, but I just popped for my daughter's wedding 6 weeks age........I'm broke for life, seriously.

RT

[Les]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Just another reason to make it to the FB open house this weekend. James has a ton of it.

[dmun]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

dmun, Orlando Foods is based in New Jersey

Well, duh. Wishful thinking perhaps. If it's any consolation, it's not easy to get in New Jersey, either.

[RTflorida]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

dmun, Orlando Foods is based in New Jersey, but I will email Anna and see if she can help.
Really, I'm done with it. After countless phone calls and visits to italian delis (of which we only have a few) and pizzarias, I stopped looking over a yr ago. I'm confident it is not available within 20 miles of my house. Beyond that, it is cheaper and less time consuming to just order it online, shipping charges or not.

RT

[fishn4daze]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

I have found that if you ask around, ie. pizza parlors or Italian deli's they will add in on their next flour order for you. Caputo 00 blue bag is what I use. 55lbs for less than $1 a lb. no shipping. Or it's $50-$75 just for shipping. I did try and just buy some flour once from a deli, 5 lbs. went for $3.95 a lb. ok if in a pinch. BEST flour ever is Caputo.

[dmun]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

I've given up trying to find the "real" stuff locally, no one sells it, not sure if any restarants or pizzarias are using it, I've stopped asking.

That's odd because the sole importer of caputo flour is in Florida. You can email them and ask about local availability. The address I used:

ANNA@ORLANDOFOODS.COM

[RTflorida]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

I've given up trying to find the "real" stuff locally, no one sells it, not sure if any restarants or pizzarias are using it, I've stopped asking. Its sad when you are forced to resort to the internet EVERY time you need a particular item. Anyone know of an e-tailer of Caputo with free shipping?

RT

[dmun]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

“Caputo” under which they pack cheese and some other items. It appears that they are trying to capitalize on the Antico Molino Caputo success with their flours and have imported a “cheap alternative” (the importer’s words) from Italy under the brand “Caputo”.

That pretty much sucks. Maybe, just maybe, if Antico Molino Caputo didn't make it so damn hard to buy their product there would be no incentive to produce fakes.

Around here, getting Caputo flour is like doing a drug deal - cash only, dicey neighborhood, one day of the week...

[timo]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Here's the response I received from the owner of the company:

Thank you for your email. Caputo brand double O or "OO" flour is
imported from Italy by our company. We are not affiliated with Antimo
Molino Caputo. However, I assure you that our flour is of the same
quality. Both flours are the highest of quality and are perfect for
pizza, bread, focaccia, etc.

Here's a bit more from another pizza forum:

I was also alerted by the importer to the fact that there is another company, in Chicago, called WISCON, that apparently owns a trademark on the brand ?Caputo? under which they pack cheese and some other items. It appears that they are trying to capitalize on the Antico Molino Caputo success with their flours and have imported a ?cheap alternative? (the importer?s words) from Italy under the brand ?Caputo?. To avoid confusion, Antico Molino Caputo is using a new logo on their flours: ?Antico Molino Napoli?produced by ANTIMO CAPUTO srl?.

So, until i am ready to try it I can't say any more. But I can say that Greco and Sons out of Milwaukee is willing to will call 25Kg bags of Antico Molino Caputo pizzeria tipo 00 flour. I think it's time for a summer kick off pizza event!

[Laurentius]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

My flour's brand name is (Molino) and its great.

[timo]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Well, I am glad I posted this. I was suspicious because the bag didn't look right. Turns out it really is Caputo flour....Well, the family name is Caputo. Natale Caputo now runs the Wiscon Corporation, a cheese management corporation, from which this product originates.

This was purchased at Tenuta's in Kenosha, WI. I am not going to give up on this just yet, though. I'll do a bit more research. They claim it is imported from Italy. If anyone else has experience with this product from Tenuta's, please chime in!

[texassourdough]

Re: Caputo Flour Bag Question

Ditto RT but the origin should be on the label. While that can be faked too...I am willing to guess a careful examination of the labeling might reveal some hints and clues. For one, Caputo has not historically listed protein!

Jay