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Do you adore pizza and want to recreate the magic of New York-style pizza at home? Your search ends here with Occident Flour from Ardent Mills. This dependable flour, also known as all-purpose flour, could be the missing puzzle piece in your quest for the perfect pizza crust.
Occident Flour is sourced from unbleached hard wheat, which lends a distinctive taste and texture to it. This flour gets the balance just right – not too stiff, not too elastic, giving your pizza crust the perfect chewiness reminiscent of an authentic New York-style pizza. So, get set to bake some delicious pizzas at home with Occident Flour.
Making a great pizza at home is more than just a recipe, it’s about using the right ingredients. And Occident Flour is one of them.
What is Occident Flour?
Occident Flour is a brand of flour produced by Ardent Mills. It is a high-quality, all-purpose flour that is commonly used for a variety of baking needs. It is labeled as an unbleached and enriched flour. Here is the ingredient list: Wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, potassium bromate, thiamine mono nitrate, riboflavin, folic acid.
The protein content that falls between 11.9-12.5%. Its versatility is what makes it a favorite among bakers and cooks alike.
Whether you’re whipping up a batch of your favorite cookies, baking a cake, making fresh pies, crafting homemade pasta, frying foods, or making pizza, Occident Flour can handle it all because it is such a versatile flour. If a recipe specifically calls for a type of flour, it’s always best to stick to it. However, if you find yourself in a pinch or even if the recipe calls for bread flour, consider using unbleached Occident Flour.
Why is Occident Flour Considered Short Patent Flour
Occident Flour finds its classification as a short patent flour, thanks to its medium-level gluten content, which makes it a flexible option in multiple baking and cooking practices. Being a short patent flour, it is a middle ground between high-gluten bread flour and low-gluten cake flour. Occident Flour, due to its medium gluten content, finds a place in various recipes, including breads, pizza dough, cakes, and pastries.
The milling process of short patent flour like Occident Flour targets the innermost part of the wheat grain’s endosperm. The flour’s lower ash content and pleasant white hue make it a preferred option for bakers aiming for a pleasing texture and look in their baked goods. The flour’s medium gluten content adds structure and elasticity to the dough, which results in baked products that boast a tender crumb and impressive volume.
Occident Flour’s application goes beyond just baking. It finds uses in the making of dinner rolls, white pan breads, specialty pan breads, cinnamon rolls, tortillas, pretzels, and even as a coating for fried foods. Its flexibility makes it a common feature in most kitchens as it readily substitutes other flour types in recipes.
In a nutshell, Occident Flour’s adaptability and medium gluten content make it a favorite among culinary enthusiasts and bakers, which solidifies its position as an all-around white flour.
Why is Occident Good for Pizza
Crafting an authentic New York-style pizza at home is a delightful experience, and Occident Flour is a fantastic ingredient to make it happen. While it is considered an all-purpose flour, if you have your choice between a general all-purpose flour or Occident Flour, reach for Occident every time.
Here’s the reasoning behind the excellence of Occident Flour for pizza-making:
- Occident Flour helps you achieve the signature crispy yet chewy crust that defines New York-style pizza.
- The moderate gluten content of this flour ensures the dough can stretch smoothly without tearing, making it user-friendly.
- It allows the dough to rise well and hold its structure, which results in a crust that is light and airy.
- The flexibility of Occident Flour lets you play around with a wide range of pizza styles and toppings, whether you prefer a classic margherita or unique gourmet combinations.
Using Occident Flour, you can replicate the authentic flavors of a New York pizzeria in the comfort of your own home. To give you a helping hand in your pizza-making endeavors, let’s move towards a step-by-step pizza dough recipe using Occident Flour.
Creating the Perfect Pizza Dough with Occident Flour
Watch the video or check out the recipe below:
Pizza Dough Ingredients
30 ounces Occident Flour
18 ounces tap water (warm)
1 tsp yeast
2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp sugar or malted barley syrup, optional
1 Tbls extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil), optional
Pizza Dough Instructions
Measure all ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. Place all ingredients in a bowl. If using a stand mixer, mix on low speed until flour absorbs all of the water, about 2 minutes. When done, mix on speed 2 for 10 minutes.
If you are kneading the dough by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough into a tight ball, place in lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let it bulk ferment for 2 hours on the counter.
When done, you can portion the dough into three equal pieces around 16 ounces each or four equal pieces around 12 ounces each. A rule of thumb is that the number of ounces will equal the number of inches in the pizza. So, the 16-ounce dough balls will be good for 16-inch pizzas, and the 12-inch dough balls will make 12-inch pizzas.
For each dough ball into a tight dough ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl with a cover and place in the fridge overnight. Use the dough within three days.
Making the Pizza
Bring the dough out of the fridge at least 3 hours before you want to use it. Preheat your oven to its highest setting (my oven goes to 550 degrees) for at least an hour. I cook on an Artisan pizza baking steel.
Stretch the dough out, place on a pizza screen or a floured pizza peel, add your favorite pizza sauce (I like using hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes or Aldi crushed tomatoes and putting them straight on the pizza with a little salt and oregano).
Top with mozzarella cheese (do not use pre-shredded mozzarella) and your favorite toppings. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes.
Occident Flour FAQs
What is Occident Flour Used For?
All-purpose flour is the workhorse of every home kitchen. Its mid-range gluten content makes it super versatile, from thickening liquids to making cookies, pies, and pastries, and yet it is strong enough for soft yeast dough (think of yeast recipes with eggs). Overall, this flour will meet most of your cooking and baking needs for the casual baker.
https://extension.psu.edu/flour-101-varieties-of-white-flours
What is the Difference Between Bread Flour and Occident Flour?
Bread flour and Occident flour are both types of flour commonly used in baking, but they have a few differences. Bread flour typically has a higher protein content than Occident flour. Due to its higher protein content, bread flour promotes stronger gluten development compared to Occident flour. Bread flour is specifically designed for bread baking. It is ideal for making yeast-based breads, such as baguettes, sourdough, and sandwich loaves, which require a strong gluten structure. Occident flour, on the other hand, is a general-purpose flour suitable for a variety of baking applications, including cakes, pastries, cookies, and some bread recipes that don’t require as much gluten development.
What is the History of Occident Flour?
The history of occident flour hasn’t been very well documented online. But with a bit of searching you can find some generally agreed-upon information about it.
https://robustkitchen.com/what-is-occident-flour
Occident flour was advertised by the Russell-Miller Milling Company as early as1894. It was considered “Better flour.”
Give Me Occident Flour Every Single Time
If you saw my All-Trumps Flour article, I really loved it. Using it for the first time blew me away. However, in all my years of making pizza, I have been so impressed with Occident. It truly is a premium-quality baker’s flour that makes superior New York-style pizza.
Of all the types of flour I have used, why do I say Occident is a superior flour? For one, it is a versatile bread flour. You can use it for so many different kinds of breads. Some people even use it for their sourdough starter. It’s not a low-gluten flour, like pastry flour, but this unbleached flour is right up there with traditional bread flour. It truly is a quality flour and sturdy flour.
As of now, I have given up using bleached all-purpose flour and bread flour. Occident Flour is that good.
Give it a try and let me know what you think. Let me know if you think I am crazy for my newfound passion for Occident Flour.
Bobby Warren has been making pizzas since he was in high school. He first started cooking pizzas at Lovece’s Pizza Palace in 1980. Since then, he has been on a quest to learn and teach others how to make the best pizza at home. When he is not making pizzas, he is working as an SEO specialist for publishers and digital marketing agencies around the United States.