New York — After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough at his family’s pizzeria in Brooklyn, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a painful discovery: that one of the main ingredients of their thin-crust pies, brominated flour, contains a suspected carcinogen. Already banned In many parts of the world.
So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, the 39-year-old began tweaking the original recipe his parents had handed him — with unexpected results.
“When we started playing around with a different type of flour, I really liked it,” said Lou Doco, who runs the store with his five brothers. “It’s a little more expensive, but the quality is there.”
A looming ban on the additive, potassium bromate, may soon force thousands of pizzerias and bagel shops across New York to make a similar shift.
The bill, passed by state lawmakers and awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature, has divided dough makers, raising concerns that even a small change in long-established baking practices could have big impacts on the city’s most popular foods.
“This is an earth-shaking event for New York pizza,” said Scott Weiner, a pizza historian who leads tours of prominent slice shops. “This component is part of the chip’s identity.”
Employees at several stores that use brominated flour declined to comment for this story. But Weiner estimates that about 80% of pizza and bread shops rely on flour that contains an oxidizing agent, which reduces dough resting time and helps ensure a stronger, chewier product.
For some, the essential qualities of a New York bagel — its rise and structure, its crunchy exterior and springy taste — would not be possible, or at least ubiquitous, without the chemical shortcut.
“You can get the same texture as the bagels, but it takes a lot more work and it’s going to be a lot more expensive,” lamented Jesse Spielman, second-generation owner of Utopia Bagels.
Before the potential ban, he also tweaked his family’s recipe, experimenting with yeast concentrations and rising times.
“It’s going to take some time to get a product that we’re happy with,” Spielman said.
Meanwhile, others argue that the proposed ban on potassium bromate is long overdue. This additive is already banned throughout the European Union, China, India, Canada, and – starting next year – in California. Some experts have hypothesized that its absence outside the United States could be one reason why many Americans find baked goods in Europe and elsewhere more palatable.
“From a consumer perspective, there is nothing good about potassium bromate,” said Eric Millstone, professor of science policy at the University of Sussex, who has focused on the health impact of chemicals in food.
Back in the 1980s, studies showed it could cause cancer in laboratory animals, even in “perfectly reasonable” doses, he noted.
“Most informed people would prioritize a long, healthy life over a softer, more soluble cake,” he said.
Indeed, many of New York’s most popular pizzerias, especially the newer, more artisanal shops, tout their use of “unbrominated” flour.
But neighborhood chip shops still rely heavily on A General Mills flour is called All Trumpsa standard ingredient since the city’s first fast-casual pizza restaurants opened nearly a century ago, according to Weiner. General Mills now sells unsprouted flour for about the same price, although other alternatives are more expensive.
In Weiner’s view, moving away from brominated flour could ultimately improve the quality of slices across the city.
“Without such a quick turnaround of dough production, you will get more well-fermented dough, which will result in a lighter pizza that is easier to eat and leaves you with less stomach ache,” he said. “It will take more operation. But everything will be rebuilt better.”
if Legislation passesCompanies will have a one-year grace period to continue using the additive, as well as additional time to inspect unexpired bags. A spokesperson for Hochul said she would review the bill.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a ban extended far beyond New York’s borders.
“Pizza in Florida is officially better than pizza in New York,” Mario Mangiglia, owner of DoughBoyz restaurant in Florida, said in a recent interview. Instagram share. He added that “my grandfather would come after me” if the dough recipe was changed at the store.
But after confronting several high-profile pizza accounts over the additive’s health concerns, Mangilia appeared to back away from his pro-bromate stance.
“I’ll tell you what,” he replied to a Long Island pizza owner. “I’m going to test some different flours to check this out.”