00 Flour

What it is

A very finely milled Italian white flour. The name describes a texture, not a strength.

How it's made

Italy grades flour by how finely it is milled and how much bran is removed, on a scale of integrale (whole) → 2 → 1 → 0 → 00 (the most refined, talcum-fine, bran-free). The "00" tells you nothing about protein.

Flavor profile

Clean, delicate; the fine grind gives doughs a notably silky, smooth feel.

Culinary uses

Neapolitan pizza, fresh egg pasta, focaccia, cakes. The fineness lets the dough form a smooth, extensible sheet that stretches without tearing — essential for hand-stretched pizza and rolled pasta.

Regional variations & the protein misunderstanding — Here is the point most cooks get wrong: 00 is a grind grade, and 00 flours span the full protein range. A 00 pizzeria flour (e.g., Caputo Pizzeria) runs a robust ~12–13% protein and produces a strong, chewy dough; a 00 flour sold for cakes can be soft and low-protein. Buying "00" tells you the flour is finely milled and refined — not whether it is strong or weak. You must read the protein content (or the intended use: per pizza, per pasta, per dolci) separately. Treating "00" as a synonym for "soft, low-gluten cake flour" is the classic English-speaking error.

Cultural & historical context

The Italian grading system reflects a milling culture organized around refinement and end-use rather than the Anglo-American obsession with protein percentage. The same flour name carries different expectations in a Naples pizzeria, a Bologna pasta workshop, and a Sicilian bakery.

Reference notes

Tags: `wheat`, `contains-gluten`, `fine-grind`, `italian`, `pizza`, `pasta`. Related ingredients: [Bread Flour], [Semolina], [Durum Flour]. Related cuisines: Italian (Neapolitan, Emilian). Suggested links: → Italian flour grading (00/0/1/2), → Neapolitan pizza dough, → Fresh egg pasta.