Modified food starch in pizza dough

[doughgirl5]

I have heard that some people put modified food starch in their pizza doughs. I have also heard that this stuff is expensive. Are these guys crazy or do they have some secret I don’t know?

[Andy M.]

I don't know what the modified food starch is supposed to accomplish. I'm happy with my pizza dough without it.

[mcnerd]

They may be using ClearJel® which is a modified corn starch used for thickening, mostly for pies, jams, sauces, but also used apparently as a dough enhancer to make it last longer. It is the only thickener approved by the USDA for use in canning. Its used mostly in the commercial industry.

[wedx]

I do not know why people always trying to make experiment with the nice things. Without those starch Pizza is delicious than why should we add different things.

May be they are just trying to do some experiment and may be new and delicious thing can come up. I tried Dominos Pizza with stuffed cheese and this was really superb.

[AllenOK]

A lot of times things like modified food starch, and other stabilizers like guar gum, xantham gum, etc., are added to food products to make them more stable, to increase their life expectancy, and to enhance texture.

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by doughgirl5

I have heard that some people put modified food starch in their pizza doughs. I have also heard that this stuff is expensive. Are these guys crazy or do they have some secret I don’t know?

I have NO idea why you would want that, or need that in homemade pizza dougn. and I don't think I want to eat pizza that has that in it, if it's used to extend the life of the dough. I find my bread and pizza doughs last long enough without the additive.

"Modified food starch" is not terribly harmful to most people, but is pretty much unnecessary, so why use it?

[kmcgra]

I stick to the basics for my dough. Flour, water, yeast, a little salt after dough rises, and a little oregano and garlic if you want to add flavor to the dough....

[AllenOK]

Originally Posted by ChefJune

I have NO idea why you would want that, or need that in homemade pizza dougn. and I don't think I want to eat pizza that has that in it, if it's used to extend the life of the dough. I find my bread and pizza doughs last long enough without the additive.

"Modified food starch" is not terribly harmful to most people, but is pretty much unnecessary, so why use it?

I hear ya there, ChefJune. I think one of the reasons why my cooking always tastes so good compared to my other half's cooking, is that I try to use as little processed foods as I can. Boxed mix, canned, etc., don't get used much by me.

[Michael in FtW]

There is no need or reason for the addition of modified starch to a pizza dough unless you are making "pre-made" pizza bases like those from "DiGiorno" - where it might be used as a stablizer to prolong shelf life.

Modified starch is also used in premade/frozen pizzas to thicken sauces on the pizza (they thicken when heated instead of thinning out and running).

I would be interested in where you got this idea of using modified starch in a pizza dough.

[archiduc]

Originally Posted by doughgirl5

I have heard that some people put modified food starch in their pizza doughs. I have also heard that this stuff is expensive. Are these guys crazy or do they have some secret I don’t know?

Hi Doughgirl,

A modified starch will only be added to commercial doughs for a pizza made and sold commercially as a chilled or frozen product.

The modified starch may be in any tomato sauce on the product and therefore part of the dish or added to the pizza dough - perhaps to improve keeping qualities, or in the case of the sauce, consistency and integrity when cooking.

A home-made pizza does not require an ingredient labelled or sold as a modified starch. The dough is a simple yeast dough and the tomato base should be fresh and requires no starch thickening.

IMHO, a tue Italian restaurant wouldn`t touch modified starch with a bargepole!!

Hope this helps,
Archiduc