What's the difference between Bread Flour and Italian Type 00 Flour?

Bread Flour: 12.00-13.50% protein, absorption 1.000×, hydration 65-78%. Italian Type 00 Flour: 11.00-12.50% protein, absorption 1.010×, hydration 58-68%.

Can I substitute Bread Flour for Italian Type 00 Flour 1:1?

Yes — absorption is close enough that a 1:1 swap works with minor tweaks.

Which is better for open-crumb sourdough?

Bread Flour supports higher hydration (up to 78%), making it better suited to open-crumb hearth loaves than Italian Type 00 Flour (max 68%).

Side-by-side comparison

Bread Flour vs Italian Type 00 Flour

	Bread Flour	Italian Type 00 Flour
Protein	12.00–13.50%	11.00–12.50%
Absorption (× bread flour)	1.000	1.010
Hydration range	65–78%	58–68%
Category	refined-wheat	refined-wheat
Ash %	0.50	0.45

Bread Flour

Bread flour is the workhorse of hearth-style sourdough. Milled from hard red winter or hard red spring wheat, it provides the 12-13.5% protein content needed to develop the robust gluten structure that supports open crumb and high hydration doughs. The absorption multiplier is the industry baseline (1.000) — all other flour hydration behaviors are measured relative to bread flour. King Arthur's classic unbleached bread flour and Central Milling's Artisan Bakers Craft are the reference specs for US bakers. Use it as 100% of the flour in baguettes and country loaves, or as the base (70-90%) in whole-grain blends. Bread flour tolerates extended autolyse, long bulk ferments, and retarded proofs without losing structure.

Italian Type 00 Flour

Italian Type 00 is the finest-ground wheat flour category in the Italian classification system. Low ash content (0.45% max), very fine particle size, protein typically 11-12.5% for pizza and 13-14% for bread variants. Caputo's Pizzeria 00 (11-12%) is the global reference for Neapolitan pizza dough. Caputo Pizza Napoletana Cuoco (13-13.5%) is the bread-focused variant. Absorption is marginally higher than bread flour (1%) due to fine grind. Optimal for pizza (60-65% hydration), focaccia (75-80%), and sandwich loaves (65-68%).

Substitution math

When substituting Bread Flour for Italian Type 00 Flour in a recipe, absorption is close enough that a direct swap works. Expect minor texture differences but similar handling.

The gear that makes the math work

A short, honest baking kit. The scale matters most — every weight on this page is in grams. The Dutch oven is what turns a good crumb into a great crust.

Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)
Baker's percentage is by weight, not volume — a 0.1 g scale is what makes the math on this page accurate.
View on Amazon →
Dutch oven / combo cooker
Traps steam for the first bake phase — the single biggest factor in oven spring and a blistered, glossy crust.
View on Amazon →
Banneton proofing basket
Wicks moisture and holds shape during the final proof, so high-hydration dough doesn't spread flat.
View on Amazon →
Bread lame + bench scraper
A sharp lame scores clean ears; a steel bench scraper handles wet, sticky dough without tearing the gluten.
View on Amazon →
High-protein bread flour
The math assumes ~12–14% protein. Real bread flour absorbs the hydration you calculate — all-purpose won't.
View on Amazon →
Danish dough whisk
Mixes shaggy, high-hydration dough in seconds without the gluey mess of a spoon or your hands.
View on Amazon →

🎧 Or learn the craft by ear

The numbers here are the what; a good baking book is the why. An Audible trial gets you any title free — Michael Pollan’s Cooked(the “Air” chapter is the best story ever told about why bread rises) is a perfect first listen.

Start a free Audible trial →

As an Amazon Associate, SourdoughHydration earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. More on how this is funded.

Gear guides — what actually matters