What kind of flour should you use for pizza dough?

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour . In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

What happens if I add too much flour to my pizza dough?

You may be tempted to add more flour but try to avoid doing this as it will lead to a denser crust . When stretching out this dough to form a pizza base, use lots of fine semolina to prevent this from sticking to your worktop and peel.

Does pizza dough have 1 or 2 rises?

If you're planning to make pizza today, then give the dough a rise . Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Which yeast is best for pizza?

Active Dried Yeast - Most Common Active dry yeast is the most commonly used type of yeast for making baked goods. It is yeast that has been dried out so that it has a longer shelf-life.

What is the best flour for high temperature pizza?

While 00 flour is generally our pick for high temp, short-cook style pizza dough (like a Neapolitan pizza dough), please note that 00 flour is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

What is the best consistency for pizza dough?

Your dough will be shaggy and lumpy to begin with, but once you've kneaded it for a while it should be smooth and slightly tacky to touch . If your dough holds it shape and doesn't ooze or sag when you hold it up, that's another good sign that your dough is well kneaded.

Should pizza dough rise covered or uncovered?

The short answer is – cover it to prevent it from drying out. And there is no good reason not to cover. But of course, there are things to consider. We all know to cover our dough so that it does not develop a dry skin on its surface which can give it an unpleasant look and texture.

Is pizza dough better the longer you let it rise?

The general rule is to let pizza dough rise until it has doubled in size , which could take anywhere between 1-1.5 hours. This will give the yeast time to activate and create a light, airy texture in the crust. However, I personally prefer cold-fermenting the dough for 48 hours for extra flavor.

What kind of flour do Italians use for pizza dough?

00 flour is also the traditional choice for Neapolitan-style pizzas. Since the texture of 00 flour is so fine and high in protein content, it helps create a smooth elastic dough that's structured and easy to work with (even without the use of a rolling pin).

What is the worlds best flour for pizza?

Double zero flour/Tipo 00 flour And these flours have just the right amount of protein content - around 12.5% for pizza baking. Both Tipo 0 and Tipo 00 are also approved by the AVPN (The True Neapolitan Pizza Association), which manages the international regulations for Neapolitan pizza.

Is self raising flour or plain flour better for pizza dough?

Here's what you'll need to make this two-ingredient pizza dough: Self-rising flour: You'll need 1 ½ cups of self-rising flour. If you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can make a DIY version with just a few ingredients. Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt holds the dough together and ensures a tender texture.

What is the difference between 00 pizza flour and all-purpose flour?

Another difference is that 00 flour is made from durum wheat, while all-purpose flour is not . This means that all-purpose flour creates stretchier gluten strands and will tend towards producing a chewy pizza base, rather than a crispy one.

Make Sure You're Using the Right Flour for Your Pizza Dough (2024)

When making pizza dough at home, the type of wheat flour you use may not seem like a big deal, but it will affect the dough. Of course, when making pizza dough, we want our crust to have some chewiness, but the choice of flour depends on the type of crust you're after, whether it's a thin New York-style crust, a chewy Neapolitan-style pizza, or a deep-dish pie.

When trying to decide which flour is best for you and your pizza, it’s important to understand the differences between the various types of flour, including all-purpose flour, bread flour, pastry flour, and cake flour. Each flour will behave differently when stretching into a circle, and specific types are best for specific styles of crust.

Understanding Gluten Content

Flours have different textures, depending on their gluten content. For example, cake and pastry flours are very soft and fine and almost feel like silk, while bread flour is a bit coarser. Cake and pastry flours have very low gluten content (eight to 10 percent), making them “soft” flours, while bread flour has a high gluten content (12 to 14 percent), making it a “hard,” or “strong” flour. All-purpose flour is a combination of “hard” and “soft” flours and contains 10 to 12 percent gluten.

Gluten is a protein that, when wet, creates an elastic system throughout the dough. It is what gives bread its chewy, springy nature, and therefore the more gluten in the flour, the chewier the bread will be. This is why cake and pastry flours are used for delicate baked goods—no one wants to eat a chewy cake.

All-Purpose Flour

Just as it sounds, all-purpose flour can be used for almost everything. It will taste good in most pizza dough recipes, but it can sometimes be more difficult to stretch out as it may tear more easily. All-purpose flour is great for Sicilian and deep-dish pizza crusts and will also do well in thin crust, New York-style, and Neapolitan-style pizzas. Your average supermarket brand is adequate, but many swear by King Arthur Flour.

Bread Flour

This is most people’s go-to for home pizza baking. It’s easy to find in any grocery store (again, King Arthur Flour is a favorite brand), is affordable, and adds some extra oomph and crispiness to thin crust and New York-style pizzas. It will make your crust crispy on the outside and chewy and textured on the inside.

Caputo Tipo '00' Flour

If you want to make Neapolitan-style pizza, which is thin in the middle and puffs up around the rim, seek out the more expensive Caputo Tipo "00" flour. The “00” refers to the texture of the flour: Tipo "00" is the finest grind you can get, 0 falls in the middle, and 1 is the roughest. This fine grind, along with a 12 1/2 percent gluten content, produces a crust that is chewy but not rubbery, with just the right amount of puff on the edges that gets charred in some spots in the oven.

Caputo flour can be found in Italian or specialty grocery shops or online. You can also try King Arthur Flour’s Italian-Style Flour, the “American clone of Italian '00' flour,” available on King Arthur Flour’s website. Be aware that if your oven does not perform well with temperatures over 500 F, the Caputo Tipo "00" flour may not brown and char sufficiently for a good Neapolitan-style pizza, so it’s probably not worth the high price tag.

How to Make Your Own Pizza Dough

Make Sure You're Using the Right Flour for Your Pizza Dough (2024)

Understanding Gluten Content

All-Purpose Flour

Bread Flour

Caputo Tipo '00' Flour

Helpful Links

FAQs

What kind of flour should you use for pizza dough? ›

Is self raising flour or plain flour better for pizza dough? ›