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NEW YORK — <\/span>After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family\u2019s Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned<\/a> in much of the world.<\/p>\n So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, the 39-year-old began tweaking the original recipe handed down by his parents \u2014 with unexpected results. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started playing around with a different flour, I actually took a liking to it,\u201d said Lo Duco, who runs the shop with his five brothers. \u201cIt\u2019s a little more expensive, but the quality is there.\u201d <\/p>\n A looming ban on the additive, potassium bromate, may soon force thousands of pizzerias and bagel shops across New York into a similar transition. <\/p>\n The bill, passed by state lawmakers and awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s signature, has divided dough-makers, triggering fears that even a minor change to long-established baking practices could have dramatic implications for the city\u2019s most iconic foods. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is an earth-shaking event for New York pizza,\u201d said Scott Wiener, a pizza historian who leads tours of notable slice shops. \u201cThat ingredient is part of the identity of the slice.\u201d<\/p>\n Employees at several stores that use bromated flour declined to comment for this story. But Wiener estimated that around 80% of pizza and bagel shops rely on a flour that contains the oxidizing agent, which reduces rest time for dough and helps ensure a stronger, chewier product. <\/p>\n To some, the quintessential qualities of the New York bagel \u2014 its height and structure, external crispiness and springy bite \u2014 would not be possible, or at least as ubiquitous, without the chemical shortcut. <\/p>\n \u201cYou could achieve that same bagel texture, but it\u2019s a lot more work and it\u2019s going to be a lot more expensive,\u201d lamented Jesse Spellman, the second-generation owner of Utopia Bagels. <\/p>\n Ahead of the possible ban, he too has been adjusting his family recipe, experimenting with yeast concentrations and rise time. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to take some time to get a product that we\u2019re happy with,\u201d Spellman said. <\/p>\n Others, meanwhile, see the proposed ban on potassium bromate as long overdue. The additive is already outlawed across the European Union, China, India, Canada and \u2014 as of next year \u2014 California. Some experts have theorized that its absence outside the United States could be one reason that many Americans find baked goods in Europe and elsewhere more tolerable. <\/p>\n \u201cFrom a consumer\u2019s point of view, there\u2019s nothing good about potassium bromate,\u201d said Erik Millstone, a professor of science policy at the University of Sussex focused on the health impact of chemicals in food. <\/p>\n Going back to the 1980s, he noted, studies have shown it can cause cancer in laboratory animals, even in \u201cperfectly reasonable\u201d doses. <\/p>\n \u201cMost well-informed people would prioritize a long healthy life over a slightly softer and more soluble bun,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Already, many of New York\u2019s most celebrated pizzerias, particularly newer and more artisanal-leaning shops, tout their use of \u201cunbromated\u201d flour. <\/p>\n But neighborhood slice shops still overwhelmingly rely on a General Mills flour called All Trumps<\/a>, a standard ingredient since the city\u2019s first grab-and-go pizza parlors opened nearly a century ago, according to Wiener. General Mills now sells an unbromated flour for roughly the same price, though other alternatives are costlier. <\/p>\n In Wiener\u2019s view, the move away from bromated flour could ultimately improve the quality of slices across the city. <\/p>\n \u201cWithout such a fast turn around for dough production, you\u2019re going to get more well-fermented doughs, which is going to lead to lighter pizzas that are easier to eat and leave you with less of a stomachache,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will require more of a process. But everything will be built back better.\u201d<\/p>\n If the legislation passes<\/a>, businesses will have a one year grace period to continue using the additive, plus additional time to go through unexpired bags. A spokesperson for Hochul said she would review the bill. <\/p>\n In the meantime, the possibility of the ban has rippled beyond New York\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n \u201cPizza in Florida is officially better than pizza in New York,\u201d crowed Mario Mangilia, the owner of DoughBoyz in Florida in a recent Instagram post<\/a>. He added that \u201cmy grandfather would haunt me\u201d if the shop\u2019s dough recipe were ever changed.<\/p>\n But after he was confronted by several prominent pizza accounts over the additive’s health concerns, Mangilia appeared to walk back his pro-bromate stance. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what,\u201d he replied to a Long Island-based pizza owner. \u201cI\u2019ll test some different flour out to check it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n