If you've ever stood in a grocery aisle staring at bags of flour wondering which one will actually make your pizza better, you're not alone. The flour you choose affects everything - how your dough feels in your hands, how it stretches, how it rises, and ultimately how your crust tastes and chews. It's the single most important ingredient in the entire recipe.
The problem is that most flour guides online either drown you in food science or just tell you to "buy Caputo" without explaining why. This guide is different. I'll walk through what actually matters when picking the best flour for pizza dough, which brands deliver for each pizza style, and - critically - how to match your flour to the oven you're actually using at home.
Once you've landed on your flour, you can plug your choice into the PizzaLogic dough calculator to get exact ingredient amounts dialed in for your style and dough ball count. But first, let's figure out which flour belongs in your kitchen.
The Two Numbers That Actually Matter
You'll see a lot of specs thrown around in flour discussions, but for home pizza making, two numbers matter most: protein percentage and flour strength (the W-index).
Protein content is the one you can find on any bag at the store. Higher protein means more gluten potential, which means more chew and structure in your crust. For pizza, you generally want to be somewhere between 11% and 14% depending on the style. Below 10% and your dough won't have the backbone to hold up. Above 14% and you're into commercial high-gluten territory that can be tough to work with at home.
The W-index is harder to find (it's rarely printed on American flour bags) but it tells you something protein percentage alone can't: how much punishment your dough can take over time. A flour with a W-index of 260 is comfortable with an overnight rise in the fridge. A flour at W 300+ can handle a 48- to 72-hour cold ferment without collapsing. That strength matters even more if you're using a preferment like poolish or biga, which adds hours of enzymatic activity before the final dough is even mixed. If you've ever had a long-fermented dough go flat and lifeless on you, the flour's strength probably couldn't keep up with the timeline - I cover the day-by-day breakdown in my guide on how long pizza dough lasts in the fridge. This is also why using regular all-purpose flour for a multi-day cold ferment almost never works - it simply doesn't have the structural strength.
For most home pizza makers, protein percentage is enough to guide your buying decisions. But if you start getting into longer fermentation schedules, the W-index becomes worth paying attention to. Italian brands like Caputo often publish these specs for their flours, which is one reason they're popular with serious home bakers.
Italian 00 vs. Bread Flour: The Real Difference
This is the debate that launches a thousand Reddit threads, and the answer is simpler than people make it: it depends on your oven.
Italian Tipo 00 flour is graded by how finely it's milled and how much of the wheat bran has been removed (measured by ash content). "00" is the most refined grade - powder-fine, silky, and designed to produce smooth, elastic doughs. It's the standard for Neapolitan pizza in Naples, where ovens run at 800°F+ and a pizza bakes in 60-90 seconds. At those temperatures, the crust puffs, chars, and browns beautifully.
American bread flour is a different animal. It's milled from hard spring wheat (typically 12.5-14% protein), ground slightly coarser, and - here's the key part - almost always contains malted barley. That malt is what makes bread flour brown so well in a standard home oven. The enzymes in malted barley break down starches into simple sugars during fermentation, and those sugars are what fuel the Maillard reaction (browning) at lower temperatures.
Here's where it gets practical. Traditional Italian 00 flours like Caputo Pizzeria are unmalted. In a screaming-hot pizza oven, that's fine - the intense radiant heat does the browning work on its own. But in a home oven at 500-550°F, unmalted flour resists browning. You end up having to bake longer to get any color, and by the time the crust looks right, it's dried out and tough.
So the short version: 00 flour for high-heat ovens (Ooni, Gozney, wood-fired). Bread flour for home ovens. That single decision will improve your pizza more than any other technique.
What if you want to use 00 flour in a home oven anyway?
You can make it work with a small addition. Adding 1-2% diastatic malt powder (by flour weight) gives your 00 flour the browning fuel it's missing. A pinch of sugar (1-2%) or a drizzle of honey works in a pinch too. You can also try Caputo's Saccorosso (Red Bag), which has a higher protein content (13%) and a stronger W-index around 300-320 - it handles home oven temperatures better than the Blue Bag.
What About All-Purpose Flour?
Let's be honest: a lot of people start their pizza journey with whatever's already in the pantry, and that's usually all-purpose flour. It works. It's not going to make great pizza, but it makes perfectly decent pizza, especially for thin-crust styles with short rise times.
All-purpose flour typically runs 10-11.7% protein - lower than bread flour but enough to form a workable dough. Where it falls short is structure. If you're doing any kind of cold ferment longer than about 8 hours, all-purpose flour tends to get slack and lose its shape - and if you're finding your dough is hard to handle, wrong flour choice is one of the most common causes of sticky dough. It also won't give you that satisfying chew you get from a higher-protein dough.
If you're just getting started and want to experiment without buying specialty flour, all-purpose is a perfectly fine place to begin - it's what I recommend in the beginner's guide to homemade pizza and the best choice for yeast-free pizza dough since you don't need the strong gluten network that yeast-risen doughs depend on. But once you're ready to level up, switching to bread flour (for home ovens) or 00 flour (for high-heat ovens) is the single easiest upgrade you can make.
Matching Flour to Pizza Style
Different pizza styles need different things from their flour. Here's how to think about it:
Neapolitan - This is the style that demands 00 flour. You want a thin, soft base with a puffy, leopard-spotted cornicione (rim), and you need dough that stretches paper-thin without snapping back. Caputo Pizzeria (Blue Bag) at 12.5% protein is the go-to for bakes under 90 seconds in a high-heat oven. Keep hydration moderate - around 58-62% - since 00 flour's fine grind absorbs water quickly and gets sticky if you overdo it.
New York Style - Big, foldable slices with a crispy undercarriage. This is bread flour territory. King Arthur Bread Flour at a consistent 12.7% protein is hard to beat here. The malt helps you get that golden-brown bottom in a home oven, and the higher protein gives you a dough that can stretch large without tearing. Hydration in the 62-65% range is a solid starting point. If you want to go the Italian route, Caputo actually makes an Americana blend that's malted specifically for this style.
Detroit and Sicilian - Thick, airy, pan-baked crusts with those famous crispy cheese edges. You want high protein (13%+) and high hydration (70-75%) to get that open, focaccia-like crumb. King Arthur Bread Flour or Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour (12.5-13.5% protein, malted) both work well. The long rise and high water content demand a flour that won't give up on you.
Roman (Teglia/Al Taglio) - This is the style with extremely airy, almost cloud-like crumb in a sheet pan. It needs the strongest flour you can get - W 340+ - and hydration levels that can push above 80%. Caputo Nuvola Super is purpose-built for this. It's technically a Tipo 0 flour (slightly less refined than 00) and contains pre-fermented wheat that helps it achieve extreme volume. This is advanced-level pizza making, but the results are incredible.
Whichever style you're going for, the PizzaLogic dough calculator lets you select your pizza style and get precise flour, water, salt, and yeast amounts - so you can spend less time doing math and more time stretching dough.
Hydration: Why Your Flour Choice Changes Everything
Hydration - the ratio of water to flour in your dough - isn't a fixed number. It changes based on which flour you're using, and getting it wrong is one of the most common reasons homemade pizza disappoints.
Fine 00 flour hydrates quickly because of its powder-fine grind. But it also hits its limit faster. Push a typical 00 dough past 62-63% hydration and it can turn soupy and unmanageable. Bread flour, with its coarser grind and higher protein, is much thirstier - it often needs 65-70% hydration to feel supple and workable. Under-hydrate bread flour and you'll end up with a dense, tough crust that's hard to stretch. For a deep dive into getting your water ratios right, check out my ultimate guide to pizza dough hydration.
If you're blending flours (more on that in a moment) or experimenting with different brands, you'll likely need to adjust your hydration each time. This is another spot where the PizzaLogic calculator saves you a headache - you can adjust hydration percentage and immediately see how it changes your water measurement across your total batch.
A Note on Water Quality
This gets overlooked, but your tap water matters. Hard water (high in calcium and magnesium) can tighten up your gluten and make the dough resistant to stretching. Very soft water does the opposite - you'll get a slack, sticky dough that wants to spread out on its own. New York City's famously soft water is actually credited by many pizzaiolos as part of what gives NY-style dough its distinctive stretch. If your tap water is extremely hard or soft and you're having unexplained dough problems, try a batch with filtered or bottled spring water and see if it makes a difference.
Flour Blending and Add-Ins Worth Trying
Once you're comfortable with a single flour, blending opens up a whole new dimension of flavor and texture.
Semolina (Semola Rimacinata) is probably the most useful addition to a pizza baker's pantry. Blending 10-20% re-milled semolina into your dough adds a golden color, a subtle nutty sweetness, and a satisfying crunch to the crust. Semolina is also the best thing to dust your pizza peel with - it's coarse enough to act like tiny ball bearings, letting the dough slide right off onto your stone or steel.
Whole wheat flour mixed in at 5-10% adds an earthy depth of flavor that pairs especially well with heartier toppings. It's also the base for Colorado-style mountain pies, where whole wheat and honey create a distinctively hearty crust. Don't go above about 15% though - the bran in whole wheat cuts through the gluten network and you'll lose the open, airy structure you're working to build. You'll also need to bump up your hydration since whole wheat is very thirsty.
Olive oil at 2-5% of flour weight isn't a flour, obviously, but it's worth mentioning here because it improves heat transfer during baking and tenderizes the crumb - especially helpful for longer bakes in home ovens.
Gluten-Free Pizza Flour
If you're celiac or gluten-intolerant, the good news is that gluten-free pizza flour has come a long way. The bad news is that not all blends are created equal - many produce a crust that's crumbly, gummy, or just sad.
The best gluten-free pizza flours use a combination of starches (rice, tapioca, corn) and hydrocolloid binders like psyllium husk and xanthan gum that mimic gluten's elasticity. Caputo Fioreglut is widely regarded as the closest thing to real wheat-based pizza dough in the GF world - it uses a blend of gluten-free wheat starch, buckwheat, and rice starch with psyllium, and produces a genuinely chewy, stretchy crust. King Arthur Gluten-Free Pizza Flour is another strong option that's easier to find in the US.
One tip: most gluten-free pizza doughs behave more like a thick batter than a traditional dough ball. Don't try to hand-stretch them - press them out in an oiled pan or on parchment paper with oiled hands.
Other Specialty Flours You'll See Discussed
Once you start spending time in pizza communities, you'll see a bunch of other flour names thrown around. Here's a quick primer on the ones that come up most often so you know what people are talking about and whether they're worth trying.
High-Gluten Flour (14-15% protein) - This is what a lot of commercial New York pizzerias actually use. It's a step above bread flour in protein content, which gives you an extremely chewy, foldable crust that can support heavy toppings without drooping at the tip. Full Proof Baking and General Mills All Trumps are names you'll see in shop-talk threads. For most home bakers it's overkill, but if you're chasing that authentic NYC slice shop chew, it's worth experimenting with. You can also approximate it by adding a tablespoon or two of vital wheat gluten to regular bread flour.
Manitoba Flour - You'll see this referenced constantly in Italian pizza forums and YouTube channels. Manitoba refers to strong flour milled from hard wheat originally associated with the Manitoba province of Canada. In Italy, "Manitoba" has become shorthand for any very strong flour (W 350+), regardless of where it's actually grown. It's popular for Roman-style pizza al taglio and any application that needs to survive extremely long fermentation or very high hydration. Caputo Manitoba Oro is the version you'll see most often. If a recipe calls for "Manitoba flour," they're basically asking for the strongest flour you can find.
Tipo 0, Tipo 1, and Tipo 2 - These are Italian flour grades that sit between 00 (the most refined) and whole wheat (Integrale). Tipo 0 retains a touch more bran and germ than 00, giving slightly more flavor and a bit more bite. Tipo 1 and Tipo 2 are progressively "semi-whole" - more rustic, higher in fiber, darker in color, and nuttier in taste. You won't find these easily in American grocery stores, but they're popular in Italy for pizza styles that want more grain character without going full whole wheat. Caputo Nuvola, mentioned earlier for Roman style, is actually a Tipo 0 flour.
Spelt Flour - Spelt is an ancient relative of modern wheat with a slightly sweet, nutty flavor. It does contain gluten, but the gluten structure is more fragile than regular wheat, so doughs tear more easily and don't tolerate aggressive kneading. Most people who use it in pizza blend it at 20-30% with bread flour or 00 flour to add flavor complexity without sacrificing too much structure. It's a nice move for rustic-style pies with earthy toppings like mushrooms and truffle oil.
Einkorn Flour - Another ancient grain that's become trendy in artisan baking circles. Einkorn has lower gluten content than modern wheat and produces a denser, more cake-like crumb. It's got a rich, buttery flavor that some people love. Like spelt, it works best as a partial blend (10-20%) rather than a full replacement. It's also significantly more expensive than standard flour, so most people treat it as an occasional experiment rather than their everyday pizza flour.
Rye Flour - You won't see many people making full rye pizza dough (it barely forms gluten and the result is very dense), but adding 5-10% rye to your dough blend is a trick that some bakers swear by for depth of flavor. It adds a slightly tangy, earthy note that works especially well with sourdough-based pizza recipes. Keep the percentage low and expect a slightly stickier dough.
None of these are essential - you can make world-class pizza with nothing but good bread flour or 00 flour. But if you like to experiment and want to push beyond the basics, these are the flours worth having on your radar.
Storing Your Flour
This is boring but important: flour is a perishable product. All-purpose and bread flour keep well in a cool, dry pantry for about 6-8 months. Whole wheat flour has oils from the germ that can go rancid faster - store it in the fridge or freezer if you're not using it regularly. Italian 00 flours, especially the more expensive ones, should be sealed tightly and kept away from humidity. If your flour smells musty or stale, it'll taste that way in your crust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use all-purpose flour for pizza dough? Yes, especially for quick, same-day doughs or thin-crust styles. It won't have the chew or structure of bread flour, but it's a fine starting point. Avoid using it for long cold ferments - it doesn't have the protein strength to hold up over 24+ hours.
What's the best 00 flour for pizza? For high-heat ovens (Ooni, Gozney, wood-fired), Caputo Pizzeria (Blue Bag) is the most widely trusted choice. For home ovens, try Caputo Saccorosso (Red Bag) - it's stronger and browns better at lower temperatures.
Why did my 00 flour dough come out pale and dry? Most Italian 00 flours are unmalted, which means they lack the enzymes that drive browning at standard home oven temperatures. Add 1-2% diastatic malt powder, or switch to a malted bread flour for home oven baking.
Does the brand of flour really matter? More than you'd think. Protein percentages can vary by 1-2% between brands (and even between batches of cheaper store brands). King Arthur is popular among home bakers specifically because their protein specs are consistent bag to bag. If you're following a recipe precisely and getting inconsistent results, your flour might be the variable.
How do I know what hydration to use with my flour? Start with 60% for 00 flour and 65% for bread flour, then adjust based on how the dough feels. If it's tearing when you stretch it, add more water. If it's a sticky mess that won't hold shape, pull back. Or skip the guesswork - the PizzaLogic dough calculator lets you set your hydration and see exactly how much water you need for your batch size.
What's the best flour for pizza crust in a home oven? A malted bread flour like King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein) is hard to beat. The malt gives you great browning at 500-550°F without needing any additives, and the protein content provides plenty of structure and chew.
Can I mix different flours together? Absolutely. Blending 80-90% bread flour with 10-20% semolina is a classic move that adds crunch and flavor. You can also mix 00 flour with bread flour to get a balance of smoothness and browning ability for home oven bakes.