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Italian-Style Flour

What is Italian-style flour and what recipes can it be used for?

This product is a fine-milled flour similar to the “tipo 00” flour sold in Italy. Italians prize 00 flour for an almost talcumlike texture that produces pizza and breads with a soft, delicate crumb and an ultracrisp crust. While the protein content varies among Italian brands of type 00 flour, the King Arthur product contains 8.5 percent protein. (Most brands of all-purpose flour contain 10 to 12 percent protein and most brands of bread flour contain 12 to 14 percent protein.)

When we swapped out the all-purpose flour in our recipes for Ciabatta and Pizza Bianca with the King Arthur product, tasters found the Italian-style flour made for decidedly lighter interiors and crisper exteriors. (The bottom crust on the pizza, in fact, was so crisp it was described as “crackerlike.”)

But making the switch to this super-fine product requires further tweaking: Its lower protein content means it will absorb less liquid than all-purpose or bread flour, so you are likely to need about 20 percent less water to produce the desired consistency in your dough.

A FINE FLOUR

Finely milled King Arthur Italian-Style Flour produces airy bread and pizzas with crisp crusts.

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