Will a Ban on This Flour Change New York Bagels and Pizza?

The recipe for Utopia Bagels has remained unchanged since the popular bakery opened in Queens in 1981. Louie and Ernie’s Pizza in the Bronx has used the same ingredients in its slice for nearly as long.

But if lawmakers in Albany prevail, these bakers and thousands of others in New York State will have to stop using a key component, bromated flour, potentially raising costs and changing the character of their breads, bagels and pizza crusts.

Last month by a wide margin, legislators passed the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act, which bans potassium bromate (along with propylparaben and Red Dye No. 3) from any food sold in the state. The bill now goes to Gov. Kathy Hochul; a spokeswoman said only that the governor “will review” it.

Used by an estimated 80 to 90 percent of commercial bakeries in the state, bromated flour makes doughs springier, stretchier and more consistent. Sam Silverman, a New York bagel evangelist who runs tours, classes and an annual gathering called BagelFest, said that after bromated flour became widely used in the 1940s, it helped create the signature modern New York bagel: tall and fluffy, with significant chew. In pizza, it produces an airy crust with enough structure to hold sauce and cheese, and enough pliability to be folded in half.