Pizza Flour

Pizza flour - it can be confusing knowing which flour is best for your homemade pizza crust. Try 00 flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour and more. What exactly is the best flour for your homemade pizza recipe?

Boy, this is one of personal taste, I believe. Some swear by bread flour for homemade pizza dough, some say use 00 flour, while others say your pantry all-purpose flour will do just fine.

Honestly, depending on the type of pizza you are making, experimenting with different flours may be your best bet. Here are some general definitions of the flours available to make pizza dough:

00 Flour

You may see this pizza flour when researching authentic Italian pizza dough. What is it? Its Italian flour that differs from traditional American flour in that it is:

• low in protein (7%-8.5%)
• super fine (grind), like baby powder

Using 00 Flour can result in a soft, light crust for your pizza. Some people swear by it, but it's not necessary for good pizza dough. It can be found in Italian markets, specialty stores and online (try King Arthur Italian Style Flour, 3 lb. $6.95).

Bread Flour

Some say that bread flour makes the best pizza crust. Bread flour is an unbleached, high-protein (11%-13%), hard wheat flour. It generally bakes easy and rises up nicely giving the crust a nice, chewy texture. It also works well for bread machine pizza dough recipes.

Bread flour is available in most grocery stores.

Whole Wheat Flour

Whole wheat flour is obviously what you'll want to use to make whole wheat pizza dough. Whole wheat flour has more fiber, minerals and vitamins to give your homemade pie a nutrition boost. It also has a higher protein level then white all-purpose flour (12%-14%).

Whole wheat flour is affordable and readily available at most grocery stores.

All-Purpose (Plain) Flour

All-purpose flour is what most people have laying around the pantry and it is just fine for use in your homemade crust. You may get a better taste or texture from the above flours, but it is possible to make a good crust using all-purpose flour.

A nice trick for great pizza dough is to mix all-purpose flour with semolina flour (see below) in your favorite pizza dough recipes.

Semolina Flour

Semolina flour is excellent for delicious pizza dough. You can replace all-purpose flour with this or combine all-purpose with semolina flour to make a great crust.

Semolina flour is more grandular and is made with a coarse grind from high-protein wheat. It gives great flavor to pizza and pastas. It's very similar in looks and texture to cornmeal. Semolina flour and similar pizza flour can be found in some grocery stores and online.

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