Side-by-side comparison
Italian Type 00 Flour vs All-Purpose Flour
| Italian Type 00 Flour | All-Purpose Flour | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 11.00–12.50% | 10.50–11.70% |
| Absorption (× bread flour) | 1.010 | 0.970 |
| Hydration range | 58–68% | 60–72% |
| Category | refined-wheat | refined-wheat |
| Ash % | 0.45 | 0.48 |
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%).
All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour (AP) sits between cake flour and bread flour in protein content. At 10.5-11.7% protein, it produces softer sourdough with more tender crumb but less oven spring than bread flour. Absorption is ~3% lower than bread flour baseline. King Arthur's AP is the US reference (11.7% protein); Gold Medal and Pillsbury run slightly lower (10.5-11%). Use AP when you want a softer hearth loaf, a sandwich-style sourdough pan loaf, or when blending into enriched doughs like brioche. AP absorbs less water — recipes designed for bread flour need hydration reduced by ~3% when substituting AP.
Substitution math
When substituting Italian Type 00 Flour for All-Purpose Flour in a recipe, adjust hydration by about 4% — add more water because Italian Type 00 Flour absorbs more than All-Purpose Flour.