Why Flour Choice Matters
Flour is the structural backbone of every dough. The type you choose determines whether your crust is crispy or chewy, tender or tough, bland or complex. There is no single “best” flour — only the right flour for the style you are making.
Protein Content
The most important variable in flour selection is protein content, measured as a percentage of total weight. Protein forms gluten when mixed with water, and gluten is the network that traps gas and gives dough its structure.
| Flour Type | Protein | Best For | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cake / Pastry Flour | 7-9% | Tender baked goods | Too weak for pizza |
| All-Purpose (AP) | 10-12% | Bar pie, tavern-style, thin crusts | Moderate gluten, tearable texture |
| Bread Flour | 12-14% | Detroit, Philly, most pan styles | Strong gluten, chewy with good structure |
| Tipo 00 | 11-13% | Neapolitan, blended with bread flour | Finely milled, silky extensible dough |
| Whole Wheat / Whole Grain | 13-14% | Blended at 5-15% for flavor | Adds nuttiness and color, absorbs more water |
| Semolina | 12-13% | Loui Loui Detroit, dusting | Coarse grind, adds crunch and golden color |
Why We Blend
Many styles in this collection use flour blends rather than a single flour. Blending lets you combine the strengths of different flours while minimizing their weaknesses.
Bread + Tipo 00 (50/50): The workhorse blend for pan pizzas. Bread flour provides the structural gluten for an airy, chewy crumb. Tipo 00 makes the dough easier to work with — more extensible, less elastic — and produces a finer, more tender interior.
AP + Semolina (70/30): Used in the Loui Loui Detroit. All-purpose keeps the dough manageable, while semolina adds a distinctive crunch to the bottom crust and a golden color that standard wheat flour cannot achieve.
100% AP: Used for bar pies and tavern-style. These styles want a crisp, cracker-like crust that tears rather than stretches. The lower protein content of AP flour limits gluten development, producing exactly that result.
Common Mistakes
- Using the wrong flour for the style. Tipo 00 alone does not have enough structure for a thick Detroit-style pan pizza. Bread flour alone makes a Neapolitan-style dough too elastic and hard to stretch.
- Not accounting for hydration changes. Whole grain flours absorb significantly more water than white flours. If you add whole grain to a blend, increase hydration by 2-5% to compensate.
- Measuring by volume. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 120g to 160g depending on how you scoop it. Always weigh your flour on a digital scale.