(Press release), Minneapolis, May 2, 2013 — General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice today introduced a new, domestically-sourced match for Italian flour, designed to help pizza operators achieve crisp yet tender, Neapolitan-style pizza crust. A high-quality, untreated patent bread flour, Gold Medal® Neapolitan is milled from a selected blend of domestic hard winter wheat.

“With Neapolitan-style pizza surging in popularity, we wanted to provide our customers with a high-quality flour that allows them to create the perfect crust they desire for hearth-oven baking,” said Tanya Kroll, associate channel manager for General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice. “Gold Medal Neapolitan is tailored to the tradition of European milled flours while offering the cost-efficiency of domestic flour.” 
Backed by 130 years of Gold Medal proven quality, the new Neapolitan flour provides the desired dough extensibility for hand stretching along with the dough tolerance needed for fermentation and the hot, fast bake of the crust.
To achieve a crisp, tender, Neapolitan-style pizza crust, General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice recommends the following recipe:

Neapolitan-Style Pizza Dough

Ingredients	Baker’s %	Small Batch	Large Batch
Gold Medal® Neapolitan Flour	100.00%	10 lbs.	50 lbs.
Water*	60.00%	6 lbs.	30 lbs.
Salt (Sea Salt, Fine grind)	2.25%	3.6 oz.	1 lb.  2 oz.
Instant Yeast	0.25%	0.4 oz.	2 oz.

 

Procedure:

• Place water into mixer bowl along with the salt and mix with dough hook for 2 minutes on low speed or until dissolved.
• Add flour and yeast, then mix on low speed for 2 minutes.  Check bowl characteristics**.
• Continue mixing for 8 minutes on low speed.
• Remove dough from bowl and allow to rest for 15 – 30 minutes (keep dough covered to prevent drying).
• Divide and round dough into desired portions.    
• Place dough balls into tote or on sheet pans lightly coated with vegetable oil or flour.  Cover dough balls and refrigerate.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and allow dough to warm to room temperature for approximately 60-90 minutes or until 60ºF minimum. 

*Temper water to achieve a finished dough temperature of 78-82ºF.
** Bowl Characteristics:  At about 2 minutes the dough should be releasing from the sides of the bowl but still be sticking to the bottom. If it is too wet and sticking to the bottom, add a little more flour. If the dough is too dry and clinging only to the hook, add more water.
With a protein level of 12.0 percent, Gold Medal Neapolitan is available to pizza operators nationally in 50-pound bags. For product information and ordering, call 1-800-288-1624. For technical help, visit www.professionalbakingsolutions.com or call 1-800-426-2760.

About General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice
The General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice division sells a wide array of high-quality products, including bakery flour, dry baking mixes and frozen products, in the retail bakery, foodservice, restaurant and wholesale bakery channels. The division also sells General Mills branded cereal, yogurt, snacks and more in a wide variety of foodservice outlets, such as cafeterias, convenience stores and vending machines. The division generates $2 billion in annual sales.