Pizza is without doubt one of the most loved and versatile dishes in the world. Originally from Italy, this culinary delight has won over the palates of young and old alike thanks to its simplicity and the possibility of customising it with an endless array of ingredients. But as with any dish, it is the quality and the type of base you use that determine the flavour and texture of the final product.
Today we will tell you about the most widespread and popular pizza flours and bases: they all offer unique taste experiences and can be adapted to suit personal preferences and dietary needs.
How many types of flour are there?
In the vast culinary world, choosing the right flour can make all the difference to how the final dish turns out. There is a surprising variety of flours on the market, each with its own peculiarities and suited to different uses and recipes. From the most common, such as soft wheat flour, to the more specialised and alternative ones like chickpea flour, the selection is wide and fascinating.
Soft wheat flour, available in different refining grades (00, 0, 1, 2, and wholemeal), is perhaps the best known and most widely used. Besides this, there are flours obtained from other cereals, seeds or pulses, such as rice flour, chickpea, buckwheat and kamut flour, each with unique nutritional and organoleptic characteristics that enrich culinary preparations with new flavours and textures.
In this article we will analyse the best known and most widespread flours, ideal for making pizza:
- Type 00 flour. Type 00 flour, the most refined of the soft wheat flours, stands out for its fineness and its high concentration of starch. This type of flour is particularly prized in the kitchen for its versatility: it is perfect for making cakes, fresh pasta and leavened products such as bread and pizza, thanks to its ability to form a good gluten network. Unlike less refined flours, type 00 flour contains a smaller amount of bran and lipids.
- Type 0 flour. Type 0 flour is a versatile ingredient that is very common in Italian cooking: it is less refined than type 00 flour, but keeps a white colour and a uniform consistency. Type 0 flour is rich in starches, fibre, B vitamins and minerals such as phosphorus and potassium. Thanks to its ability to absorb more water than type 00 flour and to form a good gluten network, it is ideal for making bread, pizza and focaccia, as well as fresh pasta and sweet and savoury leavened products.
- Type 1 flour. Type 1 flour is a lightly refined product that contains plenty of vitamins, minerals and fibre: these characteristics make it more digestible and nutritious than more refined flours. With a strength index (W) ranging between 180 and 350, type 1 flour is considered medium-strong and lends itself well to making baked goods based on sourdough starter, such as bread, pizza and tarts with a thick, full-bodied dough. Thanks to its higher hydration, products made with this flour have an unmistakable flavour and a longer shelf life: ideal for those seeking a balance between the bread-making characteristics of refined flours and the greater nutritional contribution of wholemeal flour.
- Type 2 flour. Type 2 flour, often described as semi-wholemeal flour, is an interesting compromise between wholemeal flour and more refined ones such as type 00 and type 0. This flour retains a greater amount of fibrous components thanks to its stone milling, which keeps the granules larger in size. In the kitchen, type 2 flour stands out for its dark colour and its intense, rustic flavour: it is particularly suited to making bread, pizza and other baked goods, both sweet and savoury, thanks to its ability to absorb a great deal of water and to sustain long leavening times, often in combination with sourdough starter.
- Wholemeal flour. Wholemeal flour is a food product obtained from the complete milling of soft wheat caryopses. It has a powdery texture and a darker colour than refined flours, as well as a more intense and rustic flavour. Nutritionally, wholemeal flour contains high amounts of fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals that make it more digestible and nutritious than refined flours. In the kitchen, wholemeal flour is used to prepare a wide range of baked goods, such as wholemeal bread, pizza, biscuits and cakes. However, because of its "heaviness", it is often not used as a 100% main ingredient, but in combination with more refined flours to lighten the dough and make leavening easier.
For less experienced bakers, the flours best suited to making pizza are type 00 and type 0 flour, since they favour leavening and are the easiest to use.
Direct or indirect method?
Direct and indirect doughs are two types of dough for making pizza and other baked goods. The choice between these two methods affects the flavour, texture, digestibility and shelf life of the final product.
- Direct dough. The direct dough is the most common and quickest way to make pizza. It is a relatively fast and simple method: it consists in mixing all the ingredients in a single stage and does not require the preparation of pre-ferments. The leavening times of direct dough depend on the type of flour, the amount of yeast used and the fermentation temperature.
- Indirect dough. Indirect dough, on the other hand, is a more elaborate method that involves two stages: in the first, a pre-ferment is prepared (made with water, flour and yeast), which must ferment for several hours. Afterwards, once the fermentation of the pre-ferment is complete, the other ingredients called for in the recipe are added. This method improves the digestibility of the final product thanks to the longer fermentation times, reduces the use of yeast and increases shelf life.
N.b. This is a more complex type of dough and needs professional equipment and more experienced hands.
Leavening
It is very important to leaven pizza dough so as to make it more digestible and lighter, but it is not as simple and trivial a step as one might think. There are three types of leavening:
- Physical leavening. This type of leavening occurs when heat evaporates the water in the dough, turning it into steam. The steam, trying to expand, creates bubbles inside the dough, which lead to an increase in the volume of the finished product.
- Chemical leavening. Used mainly for pastry products, chemical leavening is achieved through the production of carbon dioxide during baking. The principle behind chemical leavening is an acid-base reaction that is triggered when the ingredients of the baking powder (baking soda and an acid) come into contact with a liquid in the dough. This reaction produces carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles inside the dough, causing it to expand and rise.
- Biological leavening. Biological leavening is a natural process that occurs through the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the alcoholic fermentation carried out by microorganisms, mainly yeasts such as baker's yeast, or through the use of sourdough starter, which is a culture of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. During biological leavening, the yeasts transform the sugars present in the dough into ethyl alcohol and CO2. The latter, becoming trapped in the gluten network of the dough, causes it to increase in volume.
The vast world of flours and types of pizza dough offers a universe of possibilities for every cooking enthusiast. Every flour and every type of dough can enrich your culinary experience: whether you are an experienced cook or an enthusiast, experiment and play with the ingredients to create delicious pizza doughs!
