Pizza dough: KA Bread flour verses 00

Lizabeth L. (Q&A ID 1020)

Hi -

Many pizza recipes call for 00 flour but your dough calls for KA Bread flour. What's the advantage of the KA Bread flour over the 00?

Thanks!

Julie W. (Q&A ID 16842)

Yes, I am interested too. I am a KA fan. But I just bought some of their 00 flour for pizza dough and would like to try it. So I would like to know the advantages/disadvantages.

Lynn C. (Q&A ID 662)

Hi Lizabeth and Julie -

We called for bread flour (we like KA because it has a higher protein content, but any brand will work) in our pizza dough recipe because it's simply more widely available and versatile than 00 flour. The main difference in how it behaves is due to the exact type of wheat used and the grind size—American bread flour produces stretchier, chewier breads than Italian "00" bread flour. Flour labeled Tipo "00" has nothing to do with protein content. Rather, it refers to the fineness of the milling. Tipo "00" is the finest grade of flour milled in Italy, and it has a consistency similar to baby powder. It's available with several different levels of protein intended for different baking projects, just like American flours. American bread flour has a protein content similar to that of the Italian Caputo bread flour (King Arthur's regular bread flour actually gets a little bit higher even). Unfortunately, King Arthur doesn't specify the protein content of their 00 flour. Because of the fineness of their milling, they don't need quite as much water as an equivalent regular bread flour so you can't substitute one for the other without adjusting the water as well. Pizza made with 00 flour will produce great crust with a crackly-thin layer of crispness, a nice open and airy hole structure, and just a modicum of chew. Pizza made with regular bread flour won't produce a traditional Neapolitan pizza with a super-crisp, airy, and delicate crust, but the pizza it does produce is great for its own merits.

Hope that helps!

The Milk Street Team