NEW YORK (AP) — After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough at his family-owned Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a sad discovery. Brominated flour, a key ingredient in the thin-crust pie, contained a suspected carcinogen. already banned In most parts of the world.
So in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, the 39-year-old began tweaking the original recipe inherited from his parents, with unexpected results.
“I started trying different flours and actually liked it,” said Lo Duco, who runs the shop with his five brothers. “It’s a little expensive, but the quality is good enough.”
With the impending ban on the additive potassium bromate, thousands of pizzerias and bagel shops across New York may soon be forced to make a similar transition.
The bill, passed by state lawmakers and awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature, has divided opinion among dough makers, raising concerns that even small changes to long-established baking practices could have a dramatic impact on the city’s most iconic food.
“This is an earth-shaking event for pizza in New York,” said Scott Wiener, a pizza historian who leads tours of the famous slice shop. “That ingredient is part of Slice’s identity.”
Employees at several stores that use brominated flour declined to comment for this story. But Wiener estimates that about 80 percent of pizza and bagel shops rely on flours that contain oxidizing agents, which shorten the dough’s resting time and allow for a stronger, chewier product.
For some, the typical attributes of the New York bagel — its height and structure, its crisp exterior and chewy bite — would be impossible, or at least as ubiquitous, without chemical shortcuts.
“You can achieve the same bagel texture, but it’s a lot more work and a lot more expensive,” laments Jesse Spellman, second-generation owner of Utopia Bagels.
Ahead of a possible ban, he is also tweaking his family’s recipes, experimenting with yeast concentrations and fermentation times.
“It’s going to take a while to get a product that we’re happy with,” Spellman said.
Others, however, see the proposed ban on potassium bromate as long overdue. The additive is already banned in the European Union, China, India, Canada and, starting next year, across California. Some experts theorize that the lack of baked goods outside of the United States may be one reason why many Americans find baked goods from Europe and other regions more acceptable.
“From a consumer perspective, there’s nothing good about potassium bromate,” said Eric Millstone, a professor of science and policy at the University of Sussex who focuses on the health effects of chemicals in food.
He said that dating back to the 1980s, studies have shown that even “perfectly reasonable” doses can cause cancer in laboratory animals.
“Most informed people would prioritize living a long and healthy life over bread that is a little soft and melts easily,” he said.
Already, many of New York’s most famous pizzerias, especially the newer, artisan-oriented ones, advertise the use of “non-brominated” flour.
However, the neighborhood slice shops are still overwhelmingly General Mills flour called All TrumpWiener said it’s been a standard ingredient since the city’s first takeout pizza parlor opened nearly a century ago. General Mills currently sells non-brominated flour for about the same price, but other alternatives are more expensive.
In Wiener’s view, eliminating brominated flour could ultimately improve the quality of slices across the city.
“If we didn’t produce the dough so quickly, we would get a better-fermented dough, which would result in a lighter pizza that would be easier to eat and cause less stomach pain,” he said. “It’s going to take more processes. But everything will be built back better.”
if Bill passedCompanies will have a one-year grace period to continue using the additive, and additional time to inspect unexpired bags. A spokeswoman for Mr. Hochul said he would consider the bill.
Meanwhile, the potential ban has ripples beyond New York’s borders.
“Florida pizza is officially better than New York pizza,” exclaimed Mario Manguilia, owner of Doughboy’s in Florida, in a recent article. Instagram post. If the store’s dough recipe was changed, he added, “my grandfather would give me a hard time.”
However, Manguilia appeared to backtrack on his support for bromate after being criticized by some of the pizza world’s biggest names over the additive’s health concerns.
“I’ll let you know how it goes,” he replied to the Long Island-based pizza shop owner. “I’ll try a different flour and see.”
