'Earth-shaking event for New York pizza' looms as flour ban hits 80% of crusts citywide | Fortune

A Brooklyn pizzeria discovered bromated flour contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world. The owner began adjusting the thin-crust recipe and found a different flour improved quality despite higher cost. A New York state bill passed by lawmakers would ban potassium bromate and is awaiting the governor’s signature. The change is expected to affect thousands of pizzerias and bagel shops. Many rely on the additive because it reduces dough rest time and helps produce stronger, chewier results. Some owners fear bagel texture and structure would be harder to achieve without it and would require more work and expense.

"After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family's Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world. So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, the 39-year-old began tweaking the original recipe handed down by his parents - with unexpected results."

"A looming ban on the additive, potassium bromate, may soon force thousands of pizzerias and bagel shops across New York into a similar transition. The bill, passed by state lawmakers and awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature, has divided dough-makers, triggering fears that even a minor change to long-established baking practices could have dramatic implications for the city's most iconic foods."

"Employees at several stores that use bromated flour declined to comment for this story. But Wiener estimated that around 80% of pizza and bagel shops rely on a flour that contains the oxidizing agent, which reduces rest time for dough and helps ensure a stronger, chewier product. To some, the quintessential qualities of the New York bagel - its height and structure, external crispiness and springy bite - would not be possible, or at least as ubiquitous, without the chemical shortcut."

""You could achieve that same bagel texture, but it's a lot more work and it's going to be a lot more expensive," lamented Jesse Spellman, the second-generation owner of Utopia Bagels. Ahead of the possible ban, he too has been adjusting his family rec"

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