Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

[david s]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

I notice Lario International (Lario International | Fine quality artisan foods) now sells Molino Caputo 00 Chef flour in 1 kg bags for only $6.00. Very reasonable and finally us Aussies can get our hands on it.

$6/ kg very reasonable !!!??? Gotta be kidding. This is flour we're talking about.

[heliman]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

It's not the real thing - i.e. pizza flour (blue packaging). Check the one they sell in 25kg bags for $140. When they start selling that in smaller bags then it's time to celebrate. For now, the local products will suffice.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

There is a common misunderstanding here in Australia that Tipo 00 is a pizza flour or at least suitable for making pizza dough. The Italians make several Tipo 00 flours; for pastry, 5% – 7% gluten, for pasta and noodles, 9% – 9.5% and pizzas 11.5% – 12.5%. *IMPORTANT – Most Tipo 00 flours here in Australia are for pasta and noodles, and do not have high enough gluten (or protein) levels for making great pizza dough.

TIPO 00 Flour vs Bread and Pizza High Protein Flour — Lighthouse Baking

Woolies have it for $4.18 a kilo
Lighthouse Plain Flour Bread And Pizza 1kg - buy lighthouse plain flour bread and pizza 1kg online at woolworths.com.au
Im sure if you went to a Italian Deli you would get a bigger bag for a lot less.

[heliman]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Not a bad product but a bit too pricey. If you buy something like a Superb Baker's Flour you will be paying around $1.00 per kg. I have tried the Lighthouse brand and didn't find it any different from the Superb and other local high protein products.

TIPO 00 Flour vs Bread and Pizza High Protein Flour — Lighthouse Baking

Woolies have it for $4.18 a kilo
Lighthouse Plain Flour Bread And Pizza 1kg - buy lighthouse plain flour bread and pizza 1kg online at woolworths.com.au
Im sure if you went to a Italian Deli you would get a bigger bag for a lot less.

[nickk]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

I believe that this ('00 Chef') is the same flour as the (blue packaging) 25kg 'Pizzeria' mix. Given you probably pay somewhere between $3.00 - $4.50/kg for any decent flour in the supermarket/deli, a 'premium' is something I'm ok with to use the best. I once went to Lario's and the guy gave me a sample out of an open 'Pizzeria' 25kg bag (for nothing - just to try) and I'm telling you the pizzas it made were just heavenly.
Considering the amount of pizzas you get out of a 1kg bag, it probably adds a couple of cents per pizza (big deal !!). Product quality is everything (or at least gives you a good start for a good product), especially when there are so few ingredients - do you use black & gold mozzarella, no name ham, crappy tomatoes ? I bet not. Don't knock it until you've used it and tasted the difference.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

I wasnt recommending lighthouse just pointing out the blurb on protein.
I checked my flour and its Wallaby Brand
11.9% Protein
I think its about $2 a kilo (5 kilo bags)
Its the only one they sell in Coles and Woolies up here and I am real happy with the results.
Never tried another brand to compare though.

[nickk]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Recently got (amongst other items from Lario's) some Antimo Caputo The Chefs Flour '00' and also some tins of Casar Sardinian Peeled Tomatoes (to try instead of the San Marzanos). Made some pizzas last weekend with them and you have no idea. Some fresh prosciutto, a quality mozzarella (including buffalo - local Paesanella brand), fresh basil, rocket, olive oil and my crappy gas oven (with a stone) - WOW !! Also made a stuffed spinach (Chicago style) pizza but thinner crusts and WOW again.

Give the Chefs '00' a go. To be honest i don't think it has same 'properties' as the 'Pizza' flour**, but boy it's THE best in a 1kg bag.

** Chefs '00' says for each serving size (30g) has 3g protein (=10%). However it also says there are 45 servings so I don't know how they get 45 x 30g = 1,350g in a 1kg bag. If you work in reverse (assuming 45 servings is correct) = 22.2g per serving, then 3g per 22.2g = 13.5% (but i doubt it) - 'truth' must be somewhere in the middle. Still WOW though whatever the protein content.

[PeterE]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Great flour to work with when making the pies. Where do you get the paesannella buffalo mozzarella?

[nickk]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Fortunately i live in Sydney's inner west (Petersham) and actual Paesanella factory is local so nearly all deli's and even supermarkets stock it. I purchased mine at local Deli in Summer Hill but I know you can buy from the factory (direct) in Marrickville but they also have their own shop in Haberfield.

[PeterE]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

We have a daughter living in marrickville- visit her often so will go straight to the factory. Thanks. Deli down here in Milton sells it for $10 for one ball!! Not sure what brand tho - ridiculous.

[nickk]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Off the topic a little but anyone got idea on best 'material' for peel to construct pizza on and slip off into oven ? I have stainless and wood but always sticking. Anyone found whether flour, coarse/fine semolina, etc works better than one or the other, and never sticks. Any advice would be appreciated.

[PeterE]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Flour does work. You have to keep moving the base on the peel before it goes in your oven. Lift up the base and add some flour to the peel where it seems to be sticking. I drilled holes about 1cm apart in my aluminum peel to reduce the sticking problem. It's helped but you need to keep moving the pizza base on your peel as you work on your fillings.

[PeterE]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

The molino caputo pizza flour from Lario's in Waterloo is the best flour to shape with. It browns beautifully in the WFO and tastes great. It's worth the extra $ - surely none of us are commercial operators. A 500gm mix yields 3 large pizzas $1 each for the best flour on the market- why whine about the price?
Just got the 25kilo bag (blue) of pizza flour from Marco at Lario's on a trip to Sydney. $140 comes out at $5.60 a kg. He reckons its better than the 1kg red bags. Trying it tonight to see.

The San Marzano tomatoes (DOP) at Haberfield IGA are $1.29 a can. Fabulous flavor. We use nothing else now in all our tomato dishes.

[Frasu]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Well done Peter. I agree 100%, its worth a try. Last week I took the plunge and visited Larios and bought the Caputo Pizzeria (blu) 25kg flour. I am yet to try it but have a big pizza party coming up and cant wait.

I don't know if ill continue to buy this flour but I just have to try it and see what everyone is raving on about.

So for those of you who had questions about why this guy is the only supplier for Australia - Marco explained that the company in Naples who make it understand they have a reputation that cant be surpassed. They therefore impose rules on distributors. Marco can only order it in huge quantities as a minimum order. Usually this wouldn't be a problem but he tells me this particular flour has a short shelf life of 8 months. By the time it arrives here, it is down to 7 to 7.5 months shelf life. He then needs to sell it pretty quickly to beat the used by date.
Now obviously Marco has the clientele and can do this but otherwise it would pose a huge risk for anyone else. Marco runs a good show at Larios with lots of variety - he had the Caputo Flour for making pasta also.

[PeterE]

Re: Molino Caputo pizza flour and San Marzano Tomatoes

Thanks for the post. Marco didn't tell me about the shelf life of the flour. I hope that's not a problem because there's no way I'll use 25kg in 8 months. I've got the bag in a reasonably air tight plastic container. Maybe I need to find someone willing to go halves for future purchases or I'll go back to buying a few 1kg red packs each time I go to Sydney. I had to postpone the pizzas till tomorrow but I've made a batch of dough and it looks and feels good. I'll let you know how they shape and cook up.