What Flour to Use for Pizza Dough?

The secret to extraordinary pizza isn't in fancy toppings or special sauces—it's hiding in plain sight inside that bag of flour sitting in your pantry. The type of flour you choose dramatically shapes your pizza's personality.

But here's what most home pizza makers get wrong: not all flours are created equal. The protein content in your flour determines how your dough stretches, rises, and bakes.

 

Types of Flour for Pizza Dough

You'll find several flour options when making pizza dough, each creating a different style of crust:

• All-purpose flour (9-11% protein): Creates a crispy crust that's easy to work with. This is what we keep in our pantry for everyday baking and it works great for pizza.
• Bread flour (11-13% protein): Gives you a chewier, more elastic crust thanks to its higher gluten content.
• "00" flour (around 12% protein): The traditional choice for Neapolitan pizza, offering a balance of crispness and chewiness. This flour performs exceptionally well in high-temperature ovens like our Glowen models, which mimic the traditional wood-fired ovens of Naples.
• Whole grain flours (around 14% protein): Produce denser crusts with nutty flavors. These work best when mixed with white flours.
• Almond flour: For gluten-free options, creates a thin, cracker-like crust.
• Gluten-free flour blends: Specially formulated to mimic traditional flour properties.

The key factor in all these flours is gluten content, which determines how stretchy your dough becomes and how your final crust turns out. Higher gluten leads to chewier crusts, while lower gluten produces more tender results

 

All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour is our go-to choice for homemade pizza dough. It's reliable, easy to find, and creates a well-balanced crust that's neither too chewy nor too crisp.

When using all-purpose flour for pizza, you'll notice it produces a softer texture than bread flour. This is because all-purpose has less gluten, making the dough more tender.

To make pizza dough with all-purpose flour, you'll need just 6 basic ingredients:

• Flour
• Yeast
• Water
• Sugar
• Salt
• Olive oil
  

We start by proofing the yeast in warm water, then mix in the dry ingredients. The dough needs just a brief kneading period followed by a 30-minute rise.

One advantage of all-purpose flour dough is its versatility – you can make it ahead and refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.

For best results, bake your all-purpose flour pizza at high temperatures. At our developing laboratories in Slovenia, we've designed our Glowen ovens to reach ideal temperatures of 750-900°F, creating that authentic pizzeria-quality crust that's difficult to achieve in standard home ovens.

 

Bread Flour

Bread flour makes an outstanding pizza dough that's lighter, chewier, and softer than what you'd get with all-purpose flour.

Despite what some sources say, bread flour typically has a higher gluten percentage (11-12%) than all-purpose flour, not lower. This higher protein content is what gives your pizza dough that perfect chew and stretch.

For the best results, Tipo "00" extra fine bread flour is the top choice, but many other bread flours work wonderfully too and are easier to find in most grocery stores. Many of our Poolish and Direct dough methods work exceptionally well with bread flour, giving you that perfect balance of structure and tenderness.

 

00 Flour

"00" flour (pronounced "double zero") is the gold standard for traditional Neapolitan pizza. This fine Italian flour creates pizza with an incredibly sweet crust that's both chewy and light.

True 00 flour, has a finer texture than typical American flours and creates dough that's easier to stretch without tearing. When using 00 flour, pizzas develop that beautiful spotty char (what pizza makers call "leoparding") when baked in a hot oven. Our Biga dough method pairs perfectly with 00 flour, developing complex flavors during the long fermentation process that perfectly complement this traditional flour.

One thing to note: 00 flour in Italy doesn't contain the diastatic malt that's common in North American bread flours, which means it browns differently. This is why traditional Neapolitan pizzas need extremely hot ovens (800°F+) for proper cooking. We've designed our Glowen ovens to reach these authentic temperatures, allowing 00 flour to perform as it would in Italy.

TIP: For the best results with 00 flour, use a pizza stone and preheat your oven as high as it will go. 00 flour truly shines in high-heat cooking conditions.

 

Whole Wheat Flour

Whole wheat flour can make a nutritious and flavorful pizza crust, though there are some challenges to work with. Whole wheat flour contains less gluten than refined white flour and absorbs more liquid, which can result in a denser, drier crust if not handled properly.

You can make pizza dough with 100% whole wheat flour, but the crust tends to be more substantial and hearty compared to those made with all-purpose flour. For a more balanced approach, we often use a blend of half whole wheat and half white flour for the best of both worlds.

The dough should be kneaded for 5-8 minutes until it passes the "windowpane test" (when you can stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through without tearing). Then it needs to rise for about 2 hours before shaping.

 

Flour Properties and Dough Quality

The flour you choose has a dramatic effect on your pizza dough quality. Each type brings something unique to your pizza game.

• Italian Tipo 00 flour, with its 12% gluten content and incredibly fine grind, creates pizza dough with a delicate, fluffy texture.
• Bread flour, with its higher protein content, produces a chewier crust with more bite.
• All-purpose flour makes a thinner, crispier crust that's perfect for New York-style pizza.
  

Pizza dough typically has a lower water-to-flour ratio (around 70%) compared to bread dough (which can go up to 90%). This means pizza dough requires less kneading to develop stretchiness.

The cooking method also makes a huge difference. Our professional Glowen pizza ovens can reach temperatures of 900°F, creating a rapid cooking environment that properly activates the gluten structures in the dough. 

At these temperatures, pizzas cook in just 60-90 seconds, giving you that perfect balance of crispy exterior and chewy interior that home ovens struggle to achieve.

 

How to Choose the Right Flour for Your Pizza Style

Choosing the right flour for your pizza style makes all the difference between good and great homemade pizza. You have several options, and each will give your pizza a different character.

1. If you want a crispy crust with a satisfying chew, bread flour is your best bet. With its higher protein content, bread flour creates strong gluten networks that give your pizza structure and that authentic "fold" that pizza lovers crave.
2. For a softer, more tender crust, all-purpose flour works wonderfully. It's versatile and creates a crust that appeals to most people.
3. While "00" pizza flour gets a lot of attention, it's not essential for making delicious pizza at home. However, it does create a beautiful texture when baked at very high temperatures, like those reached in our Glowen ovens (up to 900°F). Our Slovenian-made ovens are designed to replicate the intense heat of traditional wood-fired ovens, allowing your dough to develop that authentic crispy-yet-chewy texture in just 60-90 seconds.

If you're looking to explore more traditional dough-making methods that showcase different flour characteristics, check out our other detailed recipe guides:

• Biga Dough recipe: Our traditional Italian pre-fermentation technique that works beautifully with "00" flour, developing complex flavors through slow fermentation (up to 18h hours)
• Poolish Dough recipe: Perfect with bread flour or "00" flour, this wetter pre-ferment (100% hydration) creates a light, airy crust with wonderful flavor complexity (up to 24h)
• Direct Dough recipe: Our quick method when time is limited, works well with all-purpose or bread flour, using just four ingredients for a still-delicious result that can be ready in under an hour

After years of testing, we know that great pizza starts with understanding flour. The protein content determines your crust's personality, from crispy to chewy. Match your chosen flour with the appropriate dough method and bake it in our high-temperature Glowen ovens for authentic results. The perfect homemade pizza isn't complicated - it just requires the right flour and technique.