Italians often use double zero pizza flour, also called doppio zero or 00 flour. Grind sizes range from two to zero in Italy and the rest of Europe. The finest grind is a double-zero, while the coarsest is a two. The flour’s gluten concentration or protein percentage has nothing to do with the meaning of the term “double zero.”
American producers use the flour’s protein content as a grading standard. Cake flour and pastry flour, both fine flours, have low protein levels and are, therefore, ideal for producing tender, moist bread. Bread flour and all-purpose flour, which are rather coarse, have more protein and, thus, more gluten than other types of flour. This article will explain double zero flour and why it is used for pizza bread.
Why should you use double-zero flour for pizza?
Due to its extreme fineness, double zero flour produces a more delicate and responsive dough that doesn’t tear, whether rolled into thin, delicate pasta strips or shaped into a crisp pizza base. If you’ve attempted these methods before but given up because your dough kept tearing instead of stretching while using all-purpose flour, you might be pleasantly surprised by how much simpler they are when using double zero flour.
For the same reason that the gluten in double-zero flour is so high-quality, it is widely used in Italian pizzerias. While double zero flour and bread flour (the latter of which is frequently used to produce pizza in the United States) have about the same amount of gluten, the gluten in both flours acts differently since they are typically derived from different varieties of wheat.
Red wheat produces strong and elastic gluten; this is the main ingredient in bread flour, which gives the finished product its characteristic chewiness and breadlike consistency. Double zero flour, derived from durum wheat, produces gluten that is strong but not very elastic; this is what gives Neapolitan pizza it’s the signature thin and crispy crust.
Your double-zero pizza crust will taste best if cooked in a flash at very high temperatures. This will give it the crispiness and flakiness you crave. Pizzas are best cooked in a wood-fired oven, but if you don’t have one, a hot cast-iron pan works just as well.
Is double zero flour gluten-free?
Many individuals in the United States, where flour is typically graded according to its gluten concentration, incorrectly assume that double-zero flour is gluten-free. However, this is not the case, so avoid using double-zero flour when baking for those with celiac disease or gluten allergies.
When flour is combined with water, the proteins in it create gluten strands, and the amount of gluten it can make is proportional to the number of proteins in the flour. Gluten-free flours, which do not include gluten-forming proteins, obviously do not have this problem.
As a rule, the protein content of double-zero flour ranges from 12 to 13%, which is relatively significant. This is what makes pasta and pizza more substantial than, say, a sponge cake, which is baked with cake flour containing only 7 to 9% protein.
Anti grain flour is a gluten-free, nut-free, allergen-free, non-GMO, Paleo-friendly, certified kosher flour created from fruits and vegetables in the United States.
Pizza dough double zero flour
The powdery, soft flour makes a flaky, crunchy crust. Type 00 flour is ideal for usage as a pizza, calzone, and focaccia dough base, while it can also be used for coatings, breading pasta, and other baked items.
Here is a step to step guide to making the double zero flour pizza dough:
Required ingredients:
- 500 g double zero flour
- 8 g salt
- 1.5 g active dry yeast
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 25 g olive oil
Steps to make the pizza dough with double zero flour
Step 1: Combine the ingredients in a bowl.
Step 2: Add the water and oil. Mix it slowly.
Step 3: Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for 2 hours.
Step 5: Cut the dough out of the bowl into 3 pieces.
Step 6: Dust both sides of the dough and form a round ball.
Step 7: Place the dough ball in a tray and cover it with plastic wrap. Or refrigerate the dough balls for 8-24 hours. However, remove the dough from the refrigerator at least 1.5 hours before making pizza.
Now you can preheat the oven and prepare the bread. Make sure to arrange the bread to make space for sauce.
What is the difference between all-purpose flour and double zero flour?
As a result of the need to accommodate a wide variety of baked items, there is a trade-off in the qualities of all-purpose flour (also known as plain flour). For instance, you’ll want flour that falls somewhere in the middle of the protein content spectrum to successfully create both low-gluten baked goods like cakes and high-gluten baked goods like bread and pizza.
Because of this, the protein content of all-purpose flour is often between 10% and 12%, which is a bit lower than that of double-zero flour, which typically ranges from 12% to 13%. While pizza produced using all-purpose flour is certainly delicious, it will have a softer, sponge-like texture than pizza made with 00 flour.
00 flour, unlike all-purpose flour, is produced using durum wheat. This means that a pizza made using all-purpose flour will have a chewier foundation than bread flour since all-purpose flour produces stretchier gluten strands.
The most notable distinction between the two is that 00 flour has a much finer texture than all-purpose flour. Because of this, you’ll need to be more careful while rolling out or stretching your dough.
Finally, 00 flour is finer than other flours, absorbing water more quickly. This means you can use less liquid to achieve the desired dough consistency.
Conclusion
No other flour comes close to matching the characteristics of 00 flour, and as we’ve already discussed, pizza bread made with a different flour will be less sturdy and more likely to tear. But if you use white flour with the same amount of protein, you can still make good pizza bread.
Related Articles
How to proof a pizza dough?
What is cold fermented pizza dough?
