One of the main ingredients in pizza dough is flour; without it, you would not be able to achieve the dough at all. However, there are many varieties of flour; some are better than others for making pizza dough. One of the most commonly used types of flour for making dough for pizza is Caputo flour – but what is this?
Caputo 00 flour is a super fine chef s flour that is used for making a variety of baked goods including pizza.
In this article, we will be taking a closer look at Caputo 00 flour and discovering what it is used for and why it is beneficial in pizza making.
What Is Caputo Blue Flour?
Caputo 00 blue flour is a chef s flour whose particles are much finer than other types of flour like bread flour and all-purpose flour. Pizza makers across the world use this pizza flour for a stretchy dough that will turn into a perfect crust and have been doing so since 1924 when Camine Caputo began the company.
The fine flour originates from the home of pizza, Naples Italy and is ideal for making a thin crust Neapolitan pizza just as would have been made back then this style of pizza was invented.
The Antimo Caputo blue flour is the most popular product in the range, and a bag of this soft flour is surprisingly affordable, at just under 2 euros. However, you can purchase a 25-kilo bag if you are a full-time pizza chef.
The flour is made from only the best quality European winter wheat which is ground down to make a super-soft flour that is ideal for making pizza dough.
What Is The Difference Between Blue And Red Caputo 00 Flour?
The Caputo 00 flour range contains two choices – blue flour and red flour, and there is some confusion between pizza lovers as to the difference between the two. Both are ideal for baking tasty Neapolitan pizza at home or in a professional pizza parlour; the difference comes in the type of oven you will use.
Blue Antimo Caputo 00 pizzeria flour is designed to be used with a wood-fired oven, whereas red 00 flour is made for use in a regular kitchen oven. You need to make sure that you are using the correct one since the gluten content is different is each flour.
The red 00 pizzeria flour will work better for a thinner crust pizza since the gluten content is slightly higher. In addition to this, the red style flour has a higher protein content, and both of these things combined are excellent for stretchy dough that needs a slow rise. Perfect for the Neapolitan style pizza bread. You would usually add red 00 flour when using a gas or electric kitchen oven.
In contrast, the gluten and protein content of the blue 00 pizzeria flour is not as high, and this will work well for a thick crust pizza.
What Is The Difference Between All-Purpose And Caputo Pizzeria Flour?
The key difference between all-purpose flour and the Caputo pizzeria flour is how soft and fine the Caputo flour is. The Italians use a scale that distinguishes the different types of flour with 00 being very fine and 2 being more coarse.
Furthermore, the Antimo Caputo pizzeria flour has a far higher gluten and protein content which will allow you to create a more stretchy and elastic dough.
Whilst you can bake pizza with all-purpose flour, using a high-quality pizza flour such as Caputo flour will give you a more chewy and tender dough and improved taste after baking.
What Is Caputo Flour Used For?
People in Naples and all around the world add this high-quality pizza flour to a variety of Italian dishes. The product is ideal for baking pizza dough but can also be used to make various types of bread and pasta.
If you have spent a long time trying to achieve the perfect pizza crust that is an effortless combination of chewiness and crisp then using a 00 flour from Caputo will help you to achieve this.
Conclusion
Caputo blue flour is one of two special pizza flours used by Italian chefs and people all across the world. It is designed for cooking pasta, bread and most notably, pizza. These flours are different from other types of flour since they contain more gluten and protein, which is ideal for baking pizza. The blue bags are for high-temperature ovens like the wood-fired oven whereas the red bags are used in your regular kitchen oven, and these contain slightly more gluten and protein.
