A Modern Twist on Pizza Crust
In the late 18th century in Naples, the first pizza was prepared, and ever since the flat round bread, with tomato sauce and mozzarella has conquered the world. Every day hundred of millions of pizzas are produced and consumed globally enjoyed by young and old.
The Challenge
Together with Deimos Food we wanted to create pizza crusts as good as we know them, but with a lighter impact on our planet. A good pizza crust is characterized by a crispy surface, a soft interior and a well-alveolated internal structure.
4 traditional pizza crusts were created:
- Pizza on the plate
- Pan Pizza
- Pizza alla Pala
- Neapolitan Pizza
Spent grain flour has high fiber content and offers a substantial improvement in water binding over traditional flour, providing pizza producers with extra quantity of dough to create the desired crust without compromising neither taste nor quality.
The Solution
By adding Agrain spent grain flour to the recipe Deimos achieved adding 4-6% more water to the dough, giving a positive effect on the crust, giving it more "bite" and making it more crispy. When adding spent grain flour and consequently more water to the dough we achieved a 2-3% more dough.
The use of Agrain 01 Pilsner pent grain flour has shown a higher yield in terms of quantity of dough as the weight of the powders is the same, with an increase from 4-6% of the water absorbed by the flours.
With the same nutritional values, pizzas made by adding Agrain 01 Pilsner spent grain flour have a more pleasant and less impactful taste than a conventional wholemeal product. The workability of the product was found to be as "simple" as a classic dough, unlike standard wholemeal doughs.
Impact
By adding spent grain flour as an ingredient in pizza dough our commitment to innovation and sustainability within the food industry is emphasized. Through this approach not only a superior product was created but also reduce food waste by repurposing a byproduct of the brewing process.
For every 1 kg of conventional wheat flour replaced with 1 kg of Agrain spent grain flour, 2 square meters of farmland is saved.
Every year worldwide 9bn pizzas are consumed. On a global level replacing 7% or 4 gr of traditional flour with spent grain flour would mear saving 72 mill square meters of farmland.
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Higher nutritional value by adding Agrain spent grain flour
By integrating Agrain spent grain flour in the classic Italian pizza dough
recipes, food manufacturers get significantly increased nutritional value, like
whole grain products, without compromising on taste, texture, or the
workability of the dough. In addition, the use of Agrain yields more dough
given the same weight of flour as the Agrain spent grain flour that is rich in
fiber allows the dough to absorb more water with an increase from 4 to 6%. This
integration of Agrain in classic recipes like pizza dough may revolutionize the
Italian culinary heritage while also addressing the modern consumer’s desire
for more sustainable food choices.
- Matteo Biasibetti,
Tecnical Application Manager, Deimos Group