Caputo Rosso is here!

[james]

This is very exciting. Molino Caputo has switched to the Rosso flour for the small, 2.2lb bags. The Rosso flour is loved by many enthusiasts who have been able to get their hands on it. The flour is a little stronger than the Pizzeria flour that comes in the 55lb bags. In turn, the Pizzeria flour is a little stronger than the Blue flour that used to come in the 2.2lb bags.

Very cool. You can use the Rosso flour without blending, and it will give you a pizza with a little more character and crunch than the Blue flour, without losing the incredibly soft dough, extensibility and flavor that we have all come to love with Caputo flour.

I'm thrilled and I have my first bags in hand, which I will be using tomorrow and reporting more.

As an aside, I am firing my Primavera oven and will be taking some video. Too fun.

Stay tuned for more. All orders placed in the FB Store starting now will be fulfilled with the Rosso flour.

Wahoo!
James

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Here is the new packaging.
James

[pizzaziggy]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Is the red available in the 55 lb, bags ?

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Not at this time. The Pizzeria flour in the 5lb. bag is equally awesome.
James

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

We made focaccia with Caputo Rosso tonight, and the results are excellent. The flour has a slightly more golden color than the blue flour, and it seems to be able to handle a little more hydration as it forms a dough ball. It felt less like batter and more like dough with 65%+ hydration. The dough itself is a little stronger in your hands and the dough ball has a little more structure.

The focaccia had a really nice deep brown crust, and I feel like the bread had a little more chew.

Pizza is next, but so far, so good.
James

[pizzaziggy]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Not so fast on the Rosso
I've used the Blue for almost 1 year in my oven.
I'm cooking 1 minute or so pies at 850-1,000 degrees
I've done 2 batches with the Red and both resulted in scorched, burned crust.
Same prep as the blue.
During the year I've tried mixing small quantities of various flours ( hi gluten, and all purpose with the blue , and had abandoned that as I was getting scorching with the mixes.
In my opinion the red would be perfect for ovens that don't burn quite as hot or stones.
I'm sticking with the blue.

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

There are two blues. The one in the small bag is lighter and more general purpose, and the Pizzeria flour in the 55lb bag (also blue) is blended for pizza.

If you think the Rosso is a little strong, you can always get the big bag (and share it with a friend).

I've been baking a lot with the Rosso, but I need to make a few more pizzas before I can jump in on that.

More to come...
James

[pizzaziggy]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

I used the small blue bags for a while and now I'm working through the 55 lb. bag I got through the FB store.
There may be minor differences in the small and large, but both cook up without scorching.
The red is defintely a different blend.
It comes together much differently , with the same hydration , and is easier to knead and work with.

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

I have found that the Rosso is better at absorbing water in high hydration doughs.

Have you seen that?

I have forwarded your experience to the folks at Caputo, so we can see what they say as well.

James

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Pizzaziggy,

I got this from the Caputo folks:

"This flour handles heat better than the other 1 kg bag so this is strange. It is designed to handle high heat better than other flours. The only thing I can think is that there was too much residual flour left on the dough which will burn and turn black – this is usually a problem on the bottom however."

What do you think?
James

[pizzaziggy]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

It wasn't just the bottom. It scorched the outer crust...all 4 pies.
I thought the same thing about the excess flour so I did the best I could to keep it to a minumum.
It did indeed do a great job with the absorption.
I do a 68 % hydration which seems like the outer limits of the blue, but the red soaked it up and seems like it could take a lot more.
I need to wet my hands with the blue at 68 % to work it, but the red wasn't even really sticky.
I sometimes wonder if the small amount of canola oil I put on the balls to prevent drying out could cause the scorching, so I made sure not to use any on my second batch of pies.
Still scorched.
I'm more than happy to go back and retry the red again

[james]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

You try and I'll start experimenting as well. We'll see where it goes.
James

[hilltop]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

What have you found to be the best way to store flour long term and still maintain freshness? ---hilltop

[scpizza]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

Just to clear up any confusion, this flour is not Caputo Red / Caputo Rosso. This flour is Caputo Pizzeria.

The 25kg bag of Caputo Pizzeria is in dark blue. But the 10kg and 1kg bags are in red. All Caputo Pizzeria flour regardless of bag color has a big picture of pizza in front of Mt. Vesuvius

"Caputo Red" / Caputo Rosso / Caputo Rinforzato is a different flour that comes in a large bag that is red and has pictures of many types of breads on front (it's primarily a bread flour).

[KEmerson]

Re: Caputo Rosso is here!

I just did a comparison test of sorts. I used four different flours, using exactly the same method with each. I did not get to all the flours I wanted to, and I will eventually. I used Caputo Red, Caputo blue (both in the 1k bags), Delverde, and King Arthur A.P. I want to try King Arthur's Italian type simulated 00 as well as another Italian 00 which I can't remember right now.

I tend to lean toward higher hydration, usually at 68%. I also use a starter which I allow to slow ferment in my 55? basement for at least 24 hours, though I will let it go longer - 48 hours if I must. Then I mix, autolyse and slow ferment the dough as I do the starter.

K.A., and both Caputos seemed to take 68% well, though the Delverde was very wet, almost too wet for handling. I found that very wet does not seem to allow for very thin dough, certainly not as thin as dryer dough.
Caputo Blue dough seemed driest and in its way reminded me of the all purpose from K.A. in its handling.
The Caputo Red was a delight to work. It held extremely well, stretched nicely and had a certain gloss I like to see.

I baked one of each for an almost side-by-side taste test. (I do not yet have a wood-fired oven. This test was done in my conventional home gas oven with a FB stone on the floor of the oven, preheated to 550? F for at least an hour.)

I have noticed in the past that ingredients, while vital, are only part of the trick for great pizza. Method is as vital. An ideal process will actually elevate mediocre flour above what that same flour does with a mediocre method. So that, for example, King Arthur flour, while not "mediocre" in its own right, will perform better in a wood-fired oven at 800? - 900?, well hydrated etc, than the same flour used for pizza made ala Pizza Hut. (Ok, my prejudices are showing)So King Arthur flour actually makes a nice pizza - until you taste Caputo Red and see and taste and feel the difference. Exposure increases awareness which affects taste and choice.

The K.A. performed as expected. Nice chew and bite, nice color. I found the Caputo Blue to taste slightly better, though it seemed to have the same chew, almost dense when compared with the Red.

When I got to the Red my eyes popped, my mouth began to set out the party favors because it wanted to celebrate. The Red had a delicate bite, not cracker-like, and it lacks the "chew" of denser doughs. Its flavor is distinctly different than all purpose, and even the blue and Delverde. Caputo reminded me of when I lived in Naples in the early '60's. It made me suspect I'd found what I've been looking for ever since.

Depending on what one is going for, all these fours will produce exceptional pizza as it goes into the mouth, provided all else is up to snuff i.e. the right oven temperature, dough preparation. It's not like we're talking about using rye or spelt or whole wheat flour here. But if what one is going for is a flavor and texture that stands out and soars then I can't see using anything other than the Caputo Red. It captures the Neapolitan pizza flavor in every aspect. I am not one who insists on "authenticity" for its own sake; the product will need to prove itself to me first. But I do prefer and have been searching for a very specific flavor. I have learned that all it really takes is paying attention to the VPN criteria, but because I live where I do (Northeast US), I have had to make adjustments or had to settle or have had to remain ignorant while searching, knowing I was missing something. The right flour, right method, right tomato and right mozzarella, all joining together in the right oven can bring me tantalizingly close to Naples again, without the smell of the sea (alas).

Unless I can get Caputo red regularly, I will have a hard tome accepting another flour. I have been spoiled. I have been educated. I have seen the light and I cannot return without showing the signs of a traveler who cannot feel comfortable in his own home any longer.

I am planning on placing a FB oven (Ristorante 120) in a half school bus and working the festival circuit. (www.hearth2hearth.com and Hearth to Hearth’s Blog) and will likely want Caputo Red by the truckload. And unless I can get a local miller to try to replicate it, I will be willing to adjust my determination to use only local ingeredients to accommodate my using the Red. (I can get both local plum tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. While the tomatoes are Hudson Valley and not Bay of Naples, their freshness and immediate relation between vine and pizza make an exceptional flavor not likely found in imported canned San Marzano. In my experience, fresh plum tomatoes rise well above any canned.)