Choosing the right flour is one of the most important decisions when making pizza professionally.
Two flours may look very similar on the packaging and yet behave completely differently during mixing, fermentation, stretching or baking.
The right question is therefore not simply:
“What is the best flour for making pizza?”
But rather:
“Which flour is best suited to my recipe, fermentation time, hydration level, working temperature and the type of pizza I want to produce?”
There is no single perfect flour for every pizzeria. A flour that works extremely well for Neapolitan pizza with a long fermentation will not necessarily be suitable for dough prepared in the morning and used the same evening.
Your choice should therefore always start with your working method.
Before choosing a brand or a specific flour, define your product precisely.
Do you want to make:
The style of pizza you want to produce directly influences the choice of flour.
A dough intended to bake very quickly at high temperature will not necessarily require the same flour as a dough baked for longer at a lower temperature.
This is probably one of the most common misunderstandings.
The “00” classification does not automatically mean that a flour is ideal for pizza.
This classification mainly refers to the degree of refinement of the flour. On its own, it does not tell you:
Two type 00 flours can therefore behave very differently.
You need to look at the full technical characteristics of the flour, not just the description printed on the front of the bag.
Flour strength is often expressed as a W value.
This value gives an indication of the dough’s ability to develop and maintain its structure during fermentation.
As a general rule:
However, you should avoid choosing flour based only on the W value.
A high W value does not automatically mean a better flour.
A flour that is too strong for your method may produce dough that is difficult to relax, overly resistant or unnecessarily difficult to work with.
On the other hand, a flour that is too weak for a very long fermentation may lose its structure.
Flour strength should therefore be matched to the fermentation time you intend to use.
Before buying your flour, ask yourself one essential question:
How long will my dough ferment before it is used?
Your method may involve:
The longer the process, the more important it becomes to choose a flour that can maintain sufficient structure throughout the fermentation.
However, time alone is not enough.
You also need to consider:
A dough fermented for 48 hours under refrigeration will not behave in the same way as a dough left entirely at room temperature for 48 hours.
Not all flours absorb the same amount of water.
A dough with 58% hydration and a dough with 75% hydration do not place the same demands on the flour.
If you want to work with high hydration, you need to make sure the flour has suitable absorption capacity and structure.
A poorly matched flour can produce dough that is:
On the other hand, there is little point in choosing a flour designed for very high hydration if your recipe does not require it.
The flour should match your actual working method, not simply follow a trend.
Temperature plays a major role in dough behaviour.
In a pizzeria, conditions can vary significantly depending on:
A recipe that is perfectly stable in winter may become much more difficult to manage during the summer.
Your flour choice should therefore be combined with proper temperature control.
Changing flour will not always solve a problem that is actually caused by dough that is too warm or poorly controlled fermentation.
Mixing directly affects dough development.
Depending on your equipment, you may work with:
Mixer speed, mixing time and batch size can affect both the final dough temperature and gluten development.
Before changing flour because your dough is not behaving as expected, also check:
Flour never works in isolation. It is part of a complete process.
A well-known flour manufacturer may offer dozens of different products.
It is therefore not enough to say:
“I use this brand of flour.”
You need to know the exact product reference.
Depending on the manufacturer, the technical data sheet may include:
This information is not always printed on the bag.
For professional use, do not hesitate to ask your supplier or the manufacturer for the technical data sheet.
The P/L ratio gives an indication of the balance between dough resistance and extensibility.
Without going too deeply into technical detail, it can help explain why some doughs:
A flour therefore needs more than sufficient strength. Its overall behaviour should also be compatible with your working method and the result you want to achieve.
For the pizzaiolo, however, the most important test will always be how the dough behaves in real working conditions.
You may sometimes hear:
“The more protein a flour contains, the better it is.”
That is too simplistic.
Protein content can provide useful information, but it does not accurately predict flour behaviour on its own.
Two flours with similar protein levels may perform differently.
You should therefore avoid making your choice based only on this figure.
In a pizzeria, quality is not about producing an exceptional dough once.
You need to achieve consistent results:
Consistency between batches of flour is therefore extremely important.
A good supplier should be able to provide a stable product that is regularly available.
Changing flour every few weeks because your usual product is unavailable can disrupt your entire production process.
An excellent flour that is difficult to source can become a poor professional choice.
Before making a flour part of your daily production, check:
A pizzeria cannot afford to completely change its dough recipe because a supplier is out of stock for several weeks.
Product quality is important, but reliable supply is just as important.
Not necessarily.
Some pizzerias use a single flour to simplify production.
Others use several products depending on what they are making:
However, increasing the number of flour references also makes things more complicated:
If one flour allows you to produce everything you need correctly, there may be no reason to stock four different types.
Some pizzaiolos mix several flours to obtain a particular dough behaviour.
This can work very well when the recipe is properly controlled.
However, before creating complex blends, it is better to understand exactly how each individual flour behaves.
Otherwise, it becomes difficult to identify the cause of a problem.
When starting out, a simple and repeatable recipe is often better than a complicated blend that is difficult to stabilise.
You can also incorporate other types of flour into your recipe:
These products can affect:
They can help create a distinctive product, but they need to be tested carefully.
Adding a particular flour simply so that you can mention it on the menu has little value if the final result is worse.
This is one of the most useful rules when testing a new flour.
If you change all of the following at once:
you will no longer know which change improved or worsened the dough.
Make adjustments gradually.
Keep your usual recipe and start by changing only the flour.
Then observe:
You can then gradually adjust the other parameters.
A technical data sheet can guide you, but it will never replace a real test in your own pizzeria.
Test the flour with:
A flour that works perfectly for another pizzaiolo may behave differently in your establishment simply because your working conditions are different.
A difference of a few cents per kilogram may seem important when you purchase several hundred kilograms of flour.
However, flour represents a relatively small part of the overall cost of a pizza.
A slightly more expensive flour may still be worthwhile if it provides:
On the other hand, paying more does not automatically guarantee a better result.
The best flour is the one that offers the best balance between quality, consistency, ease of use, availability and cost for your business.
Before choosing your flour, tell your supplier:
Then ask:
A specialist supplier should be able to guide you according to your working method rather than simply selling you the most expensive flour in the catalogue.
☐ I have clearly defined the style of pizza I want to produce.
☐ I know the baking temperature and baking time.
☐ I know the result I want in terms of texture and development.
☐ I know my hydration level.
☐ I know the weight of my dough balls.
☐ I know my total fermentation time.
☐ I know whether fermentation takes place at room temperature, under refrigeration or through a combination of both.
☐ I know the final temperature of my dough after mixing.
☐ I know the exact flour reference.
☐ I have reviewed its technical data sheet.
☐ Its strength is suitable for my fermentation method.
☐ It can handle the hydration level I want to use.
☐ Its behaviour during stretching matches my working method.
☐ The flour is regularly available.
☐ Delivery times are compatible with my business.
☐ I know the minimum order quantity.
☐ I have a replacement option in case of shortages.
☐ My storage area allows me to keep enough bags under suitable conditions.
☐ I have tested the flour using my own dough method.
☐ I have observed its behaviour over several fermentation times.
☐ I have tested the dough balls under real service conditions.
☐ I did not change several variables at the same time during testing.
☐ The result is consistent enough for professional use.
There is no single flour that is universally the best choice for professional pizza making.
The right flour is the one that suits your pizza style, hydration level, fermentation time, temperatures, mixing method and daily organisation.
Do not choose based only on a brand name, a “00” classification, protein content or a W value.
These are useful indicators, but they must always be considered as part of your complete dough process.
Before permanently changing flour, carry out tests under your own working conditions and observe the dough from mixing through to baking.
The best flour is not necessarily the most expensive, the strongest or the most famous.
It is the flour that allows you to produce the pizza you want to sell every day, with dough that is consistent, manageable and suited to your operation.