Flour protein and browning I use the following recipe (based on this Serious eats article) for a sicilian style pizza:


500 g All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp oil
10 g kosher salt
5 g rapid rise yeast
347 g water


Mix in food processor til dough comes together then another 40 seconds. 

Then, I turn it out on a half sheet pan with 6 tbsp oil, let it sit for ~3 hours, top with a can of Muir Glenn pizza sauce, some shredded cheese and some lunch meats. Bake at 550 F for about 16 minutes.

When I used Pillsbury/Gold Medal all purpose flour, I got better browning (and flavor)  than compared to King Arthur all purpose flour. On the other hand, King Arthur gave better bubbles (I'm guessing due to the higher protein content). 

I know King Arthur has more protein, so how does that affect browning? And can I do something to the recipe to increase my browning? I've played with the oven racks to bottom and middle, but not much luck (it's a relatively small oven, so it might not have as much effect as I'd like). 

Note: I tested about 5 times with each Pillsbury, Gold Medal and King Arthur.
Changing the protein content affects the dough and the eventual crumb (when cooked).  So the question shouldn't exactly be how does protein more protein/gluten affect browning, apart from the increased gluten will give you are more flexible dough which you work with more (ie thinner).

The two ways you can increase the crisping/browning of your pizza is: 


Roll/stretch out your dough thinner 
Placing your pizza on a pre-heated skillet before either placing into a hot oven, or better still using a broiler to apply a high heat from above.  This will increase temperature on the base and topping.