Petra's "Special" Pizza Flour

Plus: Blistered Sun Gold Tomato Pizza

Sep 13, 2024

Pizza Friends, hello! And happy Friday.

Today I have a recipe and a fun experiment to share: a late-summer pizza — blistered sun golds with basil pesto — made two ways: one with Petra 0102 flour, which I wrote about a few weeks ago, and one with Petra 5063, the brand’s “special” pizza flour.

To recap, I began experimenting with Petra flours upon being disappointed with my outdoor oven pizzas made with the 00 flour I had relied on for years. I started with Petra’s 0102, which is made with partially sprouted wheat flour, and was instantly smitten with the results from the texture (soft and pliable with a nice open cornicione) to the color (evenly golden brown with blistering here and there) to the flavor (slightly sweet and nutty).

As noted previously, for reasons I cannot explain, I started with the 0102 as opposed to the “special” pizza flour, 5063, which is approved by the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the organization governing what constitutes true Neapolitan pizza), suggesting it is ideal for high-temperature outdoor-oven cooking.

The first thing I noticed, and you will too if you watch the video, is the difference in size of the dough balls upon removing them from the fridge — the 0102 dough ball was nearly double the size of the 5063 dough ball, no doubt because of the partially sprouted wheat flour and its abundant nutrients and minerals providing food for the yeast to thrive even in the cold fridge.

Next, the two flours produce two very different pizzas visually: the 0102 pizza emerges evenly bronzed with a few blisters here and there whereas the 5063 pizza emerges nearly blonde punctuated by deeply defined charred spots.

Flavorwise, I’m not sure I could tell a difference — both are excellent, and I can’t recommend either enough, especially if you enjoy making pizzas in an outdoor oven.

I’m excited to experiment more with the 5063, which promises to perform well at very hot temperatures. As you know by now, I prefer cooking Neapolitan-style pizzas at 650-750ºF for 2.5 to 3 minutes as opposed to 900ºF for 60 seconds, because the lower temperature range is so much more forgiving. That said, there is something fun about creating a pizza with that quintessential Neapolitan leopard-spotted crust. As always, I will keep you posted.

The Video: Blistered Sun Gold Tomato Pizza

Blistered Sun Gold Tomato Pizza

For this pizza you’ll need: sun gold tomatoes or other cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, flaky sea salt, whole milk low-moisture mozzarella, and basil pesto or fresh basil.

You’ll start by blistering the tomatoes — this can be done in your indoor or outdoor oven (there are instructions in the recipe for both methods):

Then you’ll stretch your dough. This is the outdoor oven variation of the Neapolitanish pizza dough recipe from Pizza Night. On the left: Petra 5063; on the right: Petra 0102. This is after 2 hours of resting at room temperature.