Also called doppio zero flour, this ingredient is sometimes listed in Italian recipes like pizza dough and pasta. It can be pretty difficult to track down, and then hard on the wallet when you do. What is it, and is it really necessary for authentic Italian cooking?
Here in the US, we categorize flours by how much protein they contain, which directly affects the gluten formation in whatever we're making. They do it a little differently in Italy and other parts of Europe by categorizing flours based on how finely the flour has been ground. Coarsely-ground type "2" flour is at one end of the spectrum with powder-fine "00" flour at the other.
What gets confusing for some of us non-Europeans is that we assume finely ground "00" flour is probably low-protein (like our finely-ground cake and pastry flour). In fact, the protein content of "00" flour can range quite a bit depending on what kind of wheat it's ground from. Most "00" flour that we see in the United States is ground from durum wheat and has a mid-range protein content of about 11-12%, similar to all-purpose white flour.
Besides the level of the grind, the other big difference between "00" flour and all-purpose flour is how the gluten in each flour behaves. The gluten from durum wheat flour tends to be strong but not very elastic, while the gluten in red wheat flour is both strong and elastic. This means that with durum wheat, we'll get a nice bite on our breads and pasta, but not as much chew.
All this said, it's generally fine to substitute all-purpose flour for "00" flour. You'll notice a texture difference if you grew up in Europe or are very familiar with with products made from "00" flour, but all your recipes will still come out just fine.
Do you think "00" is necessary when making authentic Italian foods? Do you notice a difference when using it?
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I make a lot of home-made pasta. I don't think 00 or durum flour is necessary, but it definitely makes superior pasta. I find that fresh pasta made with all-purpose flour needs to be cooked a lot longer and is less tender. I can't make finer pasta, like angel hair, with all-purpose because the dough becomes too stiff and unmanageable.
How timely! We make pizza at home at least twice/month if not weekly and my husband is intent on perfecting his dough. We finally bought some doppio zero flour last weekend and we were surprised at the tenderness of the crust. It is powder thin and almost feels luxurious on your hands. We didn't think it was that expensive-a 17.6 oz bag cost 2.49 and we purchased it at an Italian market in town-Corti Brothers. Would we buy it again? Given how often we make pizza? You bet.
Thanks Emma! I never understood that 00 flour was both about the kind of wheat and the grind.
Corti Brother's in Sacramento (I assume that's who you're talking about, rosebud) is great! Bay Area residents can also buy 00 flour in the bulk bins of the amazing Rainbow Grocery in SF. I can't remember how much it costs but I don't recall it being an issue. Maybe because it's so easy to get here, but for the reasons other commenters have mentioned, I think it's worth seeking out.
I've always been told to substitute strong (bread) flour for 00 flours-I've certainly always made pizza bases with bread flour. I didn't know what 00 meant though.
It's also a difference in the ash, aka, mineral content. IIRC, the Italian 00 flours have a higher % of ash.
Texturally, the 00 is VERY different in feel than any brand of North American flour with the exception of some of the replica Italian style flours made here. It feels like baby powder. The dough it produces works quite differently as well.
In use, I can only speak to the difference in 00 flour as it applies to pizza dough. Having just built a wood fired pizza oven last summer, I've gone through at least 100lbs. of flour for that purpose in the last six months, and about half that was Caputo 00 in the red bag as pictured above (there is also a blue bag variety that I have not tried).
Based on my side by side comparisons in wood fired oven pizza cookery, King Arthur bread flour produces a crust that is 99% identical in texture to the 00 flour but with a BETTER FLAVOR, for a bunch less money. Even if the price was the same, I prefer it to the 00 for that reason alone.
I've also learned that good pizza dough and crust comes much more down to hydration and handling than it does flour. A well constructed North American flour dough of any brand will always be MUCH better than a poorly constructed 00 dough, and the 00 flour dough is less forgiving of unskilled handling.
For the casual pizza maker it's fun to experiment, but ultimately your dough skills are probably never going to be at the point where the apparent differences are due exclusively to flour.
Also keep in mind that doing pizza in a conventional oven changes the game entirely even if you're using a stone. The exact same dough and ingredients produce completely different results in a wood fired oven. I have done this back to back, and if I hadn't made the pizzas myself, there is no way you could convince me that they were exactly the same going in...they're that different.
So, experiment and have fun, but it's really not worth spending lots of extra money on unless you're going to reinvent yourself as a pizzaiolo full-time. Save your pennies for a wood fired oven!
Great timing! I just started making my own pasta about a month ago and wondered if I should be using "00" (budget won't allow it). Lots of good info here. Thanks!
I use '00' flour for my Swedish Pancakes and think it does make a difference in texture. They're lighter and softer.
I'm a bit confused .... I live in Italy, and normal "00" flour is hardly ever used for making pizza here, as the standard "00" has a low gluten percentage. For pizza/pasta making, here you either buy the flour that is named "manitoba" and is a "0" flour (at least 11% proteins), or you use a "00" marked as "Pizza Flour" that has a higher protein content than the generic "00" flour .... It hardly ever costs more than 1 € for a kilo .... I could never guess there were so huge diffrences between European/US flours!
I have made Pizza with both 00 and all-purpose side by side and the 00 flour is much superior for pizza. Buy it from King Arthur Flour in 3 lb bags for $6.95. By the way, the 00 flour does not work as well using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day techniques.
I'm kind of late to the party here, but I just recently got my hands on some 00 flour, and it made a huge difference for my homemade pasta.
I was using King Arthur Unbleached AP flour before, and my pasta always had way too much chew. With this 00 flour, my pasta was tender and delicate. Delicious!
BTW, I found the flour through a blog (The Sausage Debauchery) which has an online store of imported italian goods, and the prices are very reasonable.
I bought our 00 flour in Italy and have been using it to make great dough -- just checked, and it *is* marked that it is for pizza, so we lucked out. Thanks for the additional info Queenforoneday; I hadn't realized that there were different types of 00 flour.