Petra 5037 — Type 0 Flour for Long Fermentation, 12.5 kg Bag
Petra 5037 is a type 0 soft wheat flour built by Molino Quaglia for professional pizza work with long fermentation and high hydration. The technical figures are the reason to buy it: W between 300 and 340, P/L between 0.55 and 0.65, protein 13.00 to 13.50 per cent on dry matter, wet gluten 43 to 45 per cent and liquid absorption above 85 per cent. In practice it holds a dough through 24 to 48 hours of cold maturation without collapsing and gives an outside that stays crisp. It is supplied in a 12.5 kg paper bag and LAPA delivers it to pizzerias and bakeries across Switzerland.
Technical Profile
Classification: soft wheat flour, type 0. Strength W 300 to 340. Balance P/L 0.55 to 0.65, meaning an extensible dough rather than a tenacious one, which is exactly what a pizzaiolo needs when stretching by hand. Protein 13.00 to 13.50 per cent on dry matter, wet gluten 43 to 45 per cent, moisture at most 15.5 per cent. Liquid absorption is above 85 per cent. Nutritional values per 100 g: energy 1520 kJ or 358 kcal, fat 1.5 g of which saturates 0.2 g, carbohydrates 72.0 g of which sugars 0.2 g, fibre 2.0 g, protein 13.2 g, salt 0.003 g. Wheat origin: European Union. Allergen: gluten from soft wheat.
The Mill: Molino Quaglia Since 1913
The story starts in 1913, when Angelo Quaglia set a small wooden mill on rafts moored in a bend of the river Adige at Sant Urbano, near Padua. In 1937 the family moved to a more powerful mill at Vighizzolo d'Este; in 1946 the plant was rebuilt around roller milling. In 2002 the old mill building became Il Laboratorio, a training centre for professionals, and in 2007 the company founded the Universita della Pizza and the Accademia del Pane, the training programmes that reshaped how a generation of Italian pizzaioli think about fermentation and digestibility. The Petra line was launched in 2008. The mill at Vighizzolo d'Este is now run by the fourth generation of the family.
Milling: Cast-Iron Rollers, Not Stone
One point deserves clarity, because the market often gets it wrong. Petra 5037 is milled gently on cast-iron rollers with a long milling diagram; it is not a stone-ground flour. Stone milling belongs to other products in the Petra range, starting with the wholemeal Petra 9. What the roller diagram delivers here is consistency of particle size and a clean, controlled starch damage, which is precisely what makes a dough predictable over a 48-hour fermentation.
Professional Uses
Five applications cover the range. First, Roman-style pizza in a tray at 75 to 85 per cent hydration, with cold maturation at 4 degrees Celsius for 24 to 48 hours and a two-stage bake. Second, pizza in pala, again at high hydration, where the flour carries the long rest and the crust stays crisp. Third, classic round Neapolitan-style pizza, either at ambient 20 degrees Celsius for up to 16 hours or refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius beyond 48 hours. Fourth, indirect methods: the producer specifically indicates this flour for biga and poolish, thanks to its holding power. Fifth, focaccia and high-hydration flatbreads that need structure without toughness.
Hydration and Fermentation Guide
Recommended hydration runs from 65 to 85 per cent, and the flour is designed to work above 75 per cent. For round pizza at ambient temperature, up to 16 hours at 20 degrees Celsius. For the long cycle, over 48 hours at 4 degrees Celsius. For high hydration doughs, 24 to 48 hours at 4 degrees Celsius. It works in direct doughs, indirect doughs and with sourdough. Yeast and salt percentages remain the ones in your own recipe: the mill does not prescribe them.
Yield per 12.5 kg Bag
At 75 per cent hydration, a 12.5 kg bag plus 9.4 litres of water gives roughly 22 kg of dough. That is about 78 dough balls of 280 g for round pizza, or around 27 trays of 40 by 30 cm at 800 g each. Planning purchases on this basis makes it easy to convert a weekly cover count into bags per week.
Storage
Storage conditions determine how the flour behaves. Keep the bags in a cool, dry, ventilated room at 20 to 22 degrees Celsius with relative humidity around 65 to 68 per cent, raised off the floor on a pallet, never leaning against the walls, with the surrounding area kept clean. Poor storage compromises the technical performance the mill guarantees. Once a bag is open, use it within ten days to keep the characteristics unchanged.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Three errors waste the product. Treating it as a stone-ground flour in your communication is factually wrong and will be challenged by informed customers. Under-hydrating below 65 per cent throws away the absorption capacity you are paying for, costing yield and oven spring. Storing bags on the floor, against a wall or in a warm, humid room changes the flour's behaviour and voids the technical reference the mill provides.
Distribution and Logistics in Switzerland
LAPA stocks the Petra flours at its Embrach warehouse in the canton of Zurich and delivers with its own fleet to Zurich, Winterthur, Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Zug, Aarau, Schaffhausen, Chur and Lugano. Areas outside the direct rounds are covered through Swiss Post, Planzer, Galliker and Camion Transport. Customers are pizzerias, bakeries, restaurants, hotels and catering companies, with volume pricing and scheduled replenishment for sites that work pizza every day.
Who It Is For
Petra 5037 is for pizzerias running long fermentation and high hydration as their standard method, and for bakeries producing focaccia and tray pizza. Kitchens working short same-day doughs will not see the benefit of a W 300 to 340 flour and are better served by a weaker one; those looking for fibre, colour and aroma should look at the wholemeal Petra 9, used on its own or cut at 10 to 30 per cent with a white flour.
