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Question:
I was recently told that whole-wheat flour couldn't be stored as long as white flour. Is this true?

Answer:
Well, I wouldn't say that it can't, but I would say that it shouldn't. Whole-wheat flour is made by milling the entire wheat kernel into flour, and this includes the germ portion. The germ is also known as the embryo or sprouting portion of the wheat berry. This portion along with the bran portion is removed when making white flour. It is the germ portion that actually limits the length of time that whole-wheat flour should be stored. The germ is high in oil content (wheat germ oil) but this oil is not very stable after the milling process and it tends to turn rancid quite fast. When the germ oil rancidifies, the flavor of products made from the flour can be adversely affected. It is for this reason that it is recommended that whole-wheat flour not be stored for more than 30 days at room temperature from the day that it is milled. If you take into consideration that the flour must go through a distributor before its delivered to your door, there exists a possibility that the flour could already have a week or more of age on it by the time you receive it. So it is a good idea to limit your stored inventory of whole-wheat flour to not more than three weeks. It is better to buy more often and use fresh product than to store for long periods of time and run the risk of using rancid flour, which will do a whole lot of nothing good for the flavor of anything you bake with it.

On a personal note I might add that since whole-wheat/whole-grain has become all the rage, I have had to return more products due to rancid flavor than I have ever had to do in the past and I'd hate to see the pizza industry become a part of this growing trend. Keep your whole-wheat flour fresh and you won't have a problem with flavor, but if you should encounter a bag of rancid smelling flour don't hesitate to notify your flour supplier and ask to have it exchanged for a fresh bag. In some cases we have seen flour that is only slightly rancid when used, but after being exposed to the baking conditions (heat will accelerate the development of rancidity) the finished product quickly develops a characteristic rancid flavor. If you should have a pressing need to hold your whole-wheat flour for more than the recommended three weeks, it is highly recommended that it be stored in the cooler where it can be held for up to several months without any problem.

Question:
We are making a healthy type of pizza for customers who request it. We are using a par-baked whole-wheat crust and mostly vegetable toppings but we still get questions on the cheese. What can we do to make the cheese look more healthy to these customers?

Answer:
There are a number of pretty good cheese analog producers today that make a decent cheese product that has a lot of the desirable characteristics of mozzarella cheese. For the most part, these cheese products will be advertised as cholesterol free. That should make your healthy eating customers a bit happier. You can use these products as the only "cheese" on your pizza, or you can make a blended product using 25 to 50% of a part-skim mozzarella cheese with the remainder as the cheese product. This approach will give an improved flavor over just the cheese product while at the same time giving your cheese topped pizzas a more healthy nutritional appearance. Experiment and try cheese products from different manufacturers blended with your favorite part-skim mozzarella cheese and I'm sure you will be able to come up with a winning blend that will make your health conscious customers happy.

Question:
We have been getting customers asking about gluten free pizza. How do I make them?

Answer:
There are two main reasons why a person would ask for gluten free pizza or anything else for that matter. They either have Celiac Disease/Non-tropical sprue, or they have a wheat protein allergy. There is a huge distinction between these two groups. Those with Celiac Disease can usually tolerate a very small amount of wheat protein or "gluten" and if they are exposed to an excessive amount the result is not life threatening, but for those with a wheat protein allergy even the most miniscule amount of protein can trigger a potentially life threatening allergic reaction. So if you are ever planning to sell a gluten-free pizza or any other food product, be sure to clearly identify the product as for those persons with an intolerance to wheat protein or Celiac Disease. Here is the "catch" for most of us also making regular pizzas when we try to market a pizza as gluten-free for those with a wheat protein allergy. Since we are also using regular wheat flour to make other types of crusts, there is a very high probability that the gluten-free product will become cross-contaminated with wheat flour by either human contact, equipment or environment (think of the flour dust in the air), with tragic consequences.

Remember the problems you had when trying to make your own low-carb pizza crusts? Do you remember how some of the commercially purchased low-carb pizza crusts tasted like they were made form "leaves and twigs"? Right now the same thing is pretty well true of gluten free. It is difficult to make a decent, gluten free, dough/crust from scratch. There are some dough mixes available that will give you a "gluten-free" crust but you will need to be the judge of the flavor. There are also some companies that offer ready-made "gluten-free" pizza crusts, and a host of other products too, and this is something to look into. Since it is estimated that about 4% of the U.S. population has a gluten intolerance, I'm betting that very few stores will see much more than just a small percentage of their total pizza sales come from gluten-free pizza, so it really doesn't make much economic sense to get involved in making the crusts yourself, but instead, buy then ready to use and you will probably get a better quality and better tasting crust too.

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