If you want to bake pizza at home by making the dough from scratch, you must choose the perfect flour. This component guarantees the success (or failure) of the rising and proofing of the dough, and you’ll need the best 00 flour you can find. But, how do you choose? Check out the reviews here.
The best 00 flour is, without a doubt, the Antimo Caputo Chef’s Flour. This universal double zero flour type is excellent for stretchy pizza dough. It’s made in Naples, the birthplace of pizza itself, and the company’s been operating since 1924. Other great options include Antimo Caputo Pizza Flour, Cento Anna Napoletana, and the organic Molino Grassi.
If you wish to make the perfect homemade pizza, check out these flour options for the best dough possible.
What Is 00 Flour and Why Is It Called Like That?
The 00 flour’s the best for pizza dough and some types of pasta. The 00 mark indicates the refinement level, which in this case, is the best. The coarsest milled flour is marked with 2; there’s also 1, 0, and 00, with 00 being the finest.
When looking for the best homemade pizza flour, ensure it has a higher concentration of protein and gluten which is best for stretching and proofing the dough. For example, durum wheat has a higher gluten and protein content.
Proofing 00 Flour Depends On Its Strength
Any pizza chef knows that getting the ideal dough requires proofing. This is simply a process of leaving it to rest and rise with the help of the yeast, gluten, and protein concentration in it.
If you’re planning to have pizza soon, make sure to prepare the dough at least 4-5 hours before and 48 hours at most. The proofing time depends on the strength of the flour, labeled as The W Index or just W.
The perfect Neapolitan pizza is made with dough that’s been proofing for around 24 hours. A higher W index means the dough needs to prove longer and vice versa. You may not be able to find information on the strength of the packaging, but it’s always wise to look it up online.
The Best 00 Flour, As Voted By Many, Is Antimo Caputo Chef’s Flour
Now, onto the real stuff – the best 00 flour in the game. This wasn’t that difficult to pick, as the company called Antimo Caputo makes the best and most optimal 00 flour you can think of. They’re originally from Naples, the birthplace of pizza, and have been operating since 1924.
Antimo Caputo is known for its slow wheat grinding process, which makes the flour more refined and silky to the touch. Their Tipo 00 Chef’s Flour is stronger and requires longer proofing; it can sustain heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and makes an excellent, stretchy pizza dough.
It can be pricey, though, but it’s always possible to check out some deals in shops and online, to get bundles, or for a lower price.
Why I Loved Caputo Chef’s Flour the Most
The hardness level of Antimo Caputo Chef’s Flour is around 300, making it stronger than any other flour. In this case, I saw the recommendation to prove the dough between 24 and 48 hours, and I cautiously left it to rise for about a day and a half (around 30ish hours.)
The result was the most amazing stretchy dough that ended up making a fluffy and chewy base for my pizza Margherita. Truly one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had, and I don’t think it would’ve been as good without the flour.
| Brand & Name | Antimo Caputo Tipo 00 Chef’s Flour |
| Origin | Naples, Italy |
| Fermentation Time | 24 – 48 hours |
| Strength Index | W 300 – 320 |
Look Out for the Real Deal With Caputo Pizzeria Tipo 00 Pizza Flour
Another excellent flour that makes the list of top choices is, again, by Antimo Caputo, but this is their Pizzeria Type 00 Pizza Flour. This is the stuff of dreams that professional Napoletanean pizza chefs use, and it was clear why. It can handle heat up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit and can be used for preparing dough on wooden, stone, gas, and electric surfaces.
You can order it from Amazon in bundles or find some at your local shops. This flour is also a bit pricey, but you can get larger packaging and save yourself from doing multiple runs to the shop. After all, you won’t be eating homemade pizza every day, will you?
Antimo Caputo Doesn’t Miss, and This is Why Their Pizza Flour Rules
It was not as strong as the Chef’s Flour but still needed some long proofing. The recommended timeline was between 12 and 36 hours, and I left it to prove for around 16 hours. I wanted to see the difference between these flours with different strength indexes for myself.
In Naples, they leave their dough to prove between 8 and 24 hours, but leaving this one for too long seemed redundant. I’m no pro, so I figured I wouldn’t be able to make a pizza like a highly trained Neapolitan pizza chef.
Still, the end product tasted as if someone single-handedly flew a fresh, crispy, and crunchy pizza from Italy to my doorstep. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t a pro – the flour made the dough feel like it, and it ended up better than I could have imagined.
| Brand & Name | Antimo Caputo Pizzeria Tipo 00 Pizza Flour |
| Origin | Naples, Italy |
| Fermentation Time | 12 – 36 hours |
| Strength Index | W 260 – 270 |
Honorable Mentions: Cento Anna Napoletana & Molino Grassi
While Caputo reigns supreme in the pizza flour world, other brands can compete quite well with them. Two of those are the Cento Anna Napoletana Tipo 00, and the Molino Grassi 100% Italian Organic 00 Flour.
The Cento Anna Napoletana 00 flour is imported from Naples by a family-owned New Jersey company. They’ve been in the importing business since 1962 and still manage to get the ultimate fine flour.
It’s ideal for homemade pasta, such as ravioli. It has a fine texture, quite powdery and fluffy, and when baking with it, I noticed excellent consistency and a great quality dough. It’s considered one of the best all-purpose flours globally because you can use it for homemade pasta and pizza.
While it was recommended as pasta flour to me, I did manage to squeeze out an incredibly delicious thin-crusted pizza – and that’s a pat on the back for Cento Anna Napoletana more than me.
You can get this flour in larger bags, making it more affordable than other brands (especially Caputo.) Considering how much you get for the price, it’s the one most worth investing in.
| Brand & Name | Cento Anna Napoletana Tipo 00 |
| Origin | Naples, Italy / imported by a New Jersey company |
| Fermentation Time | 12 – 36 hours |
| Strength Index | W 270 |
Molino Grassi Is 100% Organic Italian 00 Flour That’s USDA Approved
Molino Grassi is the one company that paid attention to the nutritional benefits of flour, thus creating a supreme organic type 00 flour.
This family-owned company hails from Parma, Italy, and has been in business since 1934. They were one of the first wheat mills in northern Italy and are currently run by their fourth generation.
The one downside to making pizza dough with the Molino Grassi organic flour is that it ended up feeling a bit heavier than with Caputo’s. This is mainly because organic flour is unmalted and requires high temperatures. I burned my pizza crust the first time I made it, so I was thankful that this type didn’t make it possible to burn the dough as I feared.
| Brand & Name | Molino Grassi 100% Italian Organic 00 |
| Origin | Parma, Italy |
| Fermentation Time | 12 – 36 hours |
| Strength Index | W 290 |
Making Pizza Is Easier With Professional Flours and High-Quality Components
The difference between the Caputo Chef’s Flour and their Pizza Flour is the price. If you want a more professional outcome, choose the latter, but if you’re just a humble amateur chef like yours truly, then the Chef’s Flour or even the Cento Anna Napoletana will do the trick.
Whichever type you choose, the key component is patience. Being hasty in getting your dough out and rolling it into an imperfect circle (if it’s perfect, good for you) will just make the crust harder to chew and easy to burn.
Don’t check the dough while it’s proving, either. Set a timer, do other things, and rejoice that one of your next meals is going to be a delicious, homemade pizza.