Learning is my Bag, Baby

I’m baking a test Sicilian.

I bought Sinatra and 6-in-1 tomatoes at GFS, and I also got Primo Gusto flour and Primo Gusto mozzarella/provolone mix. I have tried 6-in-1 before, and I’ve tried the cheese, but sometimes it’s nice to go back over old ground.

The flour sack says “high gluten,” and this flour is rumored to be about the same as All Trumps high-gluten, but the protein box on the bag says 3 grams, not 4.

I’m dividing the pie in thirds. Each third will get a different sauce. It’s a big pie. I’m using a half-sheet pan.

The Sinatra tomatoes taste great out of the can. I was impressed. But that means absolutely nothing. You have to bake sauce before you can judge it.

I am so industrious. I deserve a medal. Who else would spend all this time making pizza and trying it? It’s hard work, but then I am what George Bush was talking about when he kept telling us about “good people doin’ a hard jawb.”

No praise is necessary. It’s enough to know I deserve it.

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Here’s the deal.

1. Primo Gusto flour makes excellent Sicilian pizza. Maybe I did something different this time; I don’t know. But the crust browned beautifully, and it formed nice big irregular gas pockets. Very nice. Now I know I don’t have to fool with exotic flour.

2. Sinatra tomatoes are good enough to use for pizza, but they’re not a dream come true. They seem to lack the complexity of real San Marzanos, and that’s really all San Marzanos have to offer, in my opinion.

3. The 6-in-1 tomatoes are better than Sinatra tomatoes. They’re sweeter and they have more of a round, fruity California taste.

4. The Primo Gusto cheese tastes okay, but it doesn’t seem to cook and melt the way it should. Too much cellulose, maybe. Or maybe I didn’t preheat the oven enough. But if that were the problem, the crust would have been raw.

5. Saporito is still the king. It was fruitier and tastier than the 6-in-1 tomatoes, and they were better than the Sinatras. Maybe the Sinatras would be better if they were boiled down a little. They are pretty runny after you puree them.

This was a grueling experiment, but I did it anyway, because that’s how I roll. I don’t expect gratitude or admiration. But I won’t object if you foist them upon me anyway.

Some guys are working in the yard, so I managed to give most of the pie away instead of dumping it. They must think Americans are insane.

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