Any Surprises from Bouncer Flour?

[Puzzolento]

I've been using Golden Tiger flour. It's hard to find info on it; BSM doesn't seem interested in putting information on their website. It makes a very clean-looking, smooth, stretchy dough, a little like 00 in appearance, but it seems to bake up about like bread flour. I'm not sure it blows up as big as I'd like. It's hard to tell, since I'm working in such a hurry and I can't slow down and make accurate observations.

I have no complaints at all about this stuff, but today I picked up a bag of Bouncer, purely because they sell it in smaller bags which are less aggravation to deal with. It's also cheaper than Golden Tiger. I'm wondering what, if anything, I should expect. I've read that the gluten content is very high, and the packaging says it's bromated.

For reference, I'm baking Sicilian pizza in a 500-degree convection oven, in cheap stainless quarter-sheet pans. The dough is just flour, salt, pepper, yeast, and water, but the outside is heavily oiled. I flop it out after 6 minutes and give it another minute on a stone, to crisp it up. No parbaking. I just slop the sauce and cheese on and go.

[PizzaHog]

While I've never used Bouncer myself, the only pizzeria I know of around here that makes a decent NY style pie does (I always pump the pizza cooks for info wherever I go).  This place stretches, preps, and bakes the pies in full view and I have always noticed how indestructible the skins seem.  Nothing gentle with these guys, they manhandle the skins to the point it almost seems like their dough is too elastic.  But it takes the punishment and never a tear or thin spot.  They also told me it was a higher protein flour and it looks quite smooth to me.
Texture after baking there is typical of a good NY street slice as might be expected with a high protein bromated flour and the garlic knots it makes are even better.
Not sure if this is the texture you might be after for a Sicilian but I'm sure it will be good.
 

[Puzzolento]

Sounds like it will be fine. I've gotten a good result with every flour I've used to make Sicilian, but this one sounds like it's well-suited to everything else I plan to make.

[scott r]

Bouncer is great.   I have found it to be very similar to all trumps which is the definitive NY style pizza flour.   

[Puzzolento]

My local GFS has Bouncer, All Trumps, Golden Tiger, and Primo Gusto (I believe someone here said it's similar to Bouncer), so I guess it's hard to go wrong. I haven't tried Primo Gusto or All Trumps yet.

The only flours I don't like are cake flour and 00. Don't ask me why they don't work for me; I couldn't tell you. I get great results with everything else. I found that 00 pizza and rolls reminded me a little of porcelain, and cake flour pizza was hard.

[dms]

I've been using Golden Tiger flour. It's hard to find info on it; BSM doesn't seem interested in putting information on their website.

BSM will give you specs on their flours.  You just have to ask.  There's an email address on the website.  if you can, quote the UPC or your supplier's re-order number (some products with the same name aren't the same).  I don't know why they don't make the information more available. 

Bouncer is high protein (13.8 +/- 0.3), and the most commonly available is bromated.

[Pete-zza]

Bouncer is high protein (13.8 +/- 0.2

dms,

Did you mean +/- 0.3?

Peter

[Puzzolento]

I tried Bouncer on Sunday, and I was not thrilled with the crusts. It seemed to lack flavor, and it didn't brown up as nicely or give me the same satisfying crunch I got from Golden Tiger. I can't see how the difference could be this great, but that was the result I got. I'm going to bring some Bouncer home and make some test pies. It's odd, because every other flour I've used has made wonderful Sicilian, and that includes bread flour and AP.

[Tampa]

I've been using Kyrol for most of my pizza making and recently tried Bouncer because they now stock it at the Tampa Restaurant Supply Depot and because Bouncer doesn't use bromate or bleach.  In short, I'm very pleased with Bouncer as a direct replacement.  The crumb, crisp, oven spring, and general baking characteristics seem identical comparing Bouncer with Kyrol.  I’ve read that either aging the flour or bromate is used to improve oven spring.  I don’t know the production process for Bouncer but the spring was every bit as good as Kyrol.  The only difference for us was that we cut back on hydration from ~63% with Kyrol to ~60% for Bouncer.

[chickenparm]

I made a thread about this flour and did not see this one.Duh me!
 

From what I gather,I do not think it was ideal for a thicker,sicilian type crust.Im reading good thin crust results though in the advertisement and other folks on here.

I'm going to get a 25 lb bag/sack this week and hope It will be rewarding at least.
 

[Tampa]

Give it a go and post what you find.

Many forum members have more experience with dough than I, but here is what I've found using Bouncer Flour.  It poofs just fine at the right hydration level.  If I get too much hydration, 60% in today's conditions, the dough gets slack after a couple of days of cold ferment (fridge).  It is easy to stretch, but quickly window-panes in the center.  With lower hydration, say 58%, the dough is a bugger to stretch but puffs up nicely.  For example, on a 15" pie, I'll get a fairly uniform 1.5" rim, sometimes 2", in places.  It all depends how you stretch and where you leave the thickness in the dough.  Keep in mind that I use a spoon of molassas, which is a bit unusual, so that could alter your results a bit.
Dave

[DonC]

I've been using Kyrol for most of my pizza making and recently tried Bouncer because they now stock it at the Tampa Restaurant Supply Depot and because Bouncer doesn't use bromate or bleach.  In short, I'm very pleased with Bouncer as a direct replacement.  The crumb, crisp, oven spring, and general baking characteristics seem identical comparing Bouncer with Kyrol.  I’ve read that either aging the flour or bromate is used to improve oven spring.  I don’t know the production process for Bouncer but the spring was every bit as good as Kyrol.  The only difference for us was that we cut back on hydration from ~63% with Kyrol to ~60% for Bouncer.

I'm about halfway thru my first 25lb bag of Bouncer from my local GFS.Mine is bromated and bleached tho,could it be different in different regions? I am very happy with it for pizza,mainly crispy/cracker style and also with sourdough,challah and several other types of bread.
 It is my first non-Pillsbury/Gold Medal/Spartan flour tho so my opinion isn't very informed!!!LOL. I was disappointed with myself,I got so caught up comparing protein% and price,that I didn't even notice that it was bromated and bleached till I got home.I will be looking for something else unbleached and not bromated  next time just for health reasons not performance.