How to Instantly Turn All-Purpose Flour into Pizza Flour

How to Turn All-Purpose Flour into Pizza Flour

If you want to know how to turn all-purpose flour into pizza flour, the initial answer would be simple: ensure that the gluten content of the all-purpose flour matches that of pizza flour. 

But what do you need to do?

Let’s find out!

Can You Make Pizza with All-Purpose Flour?

Yes, you can! You can still create excellent pizza dough even with just all-purpose flour. It will probably not be the same as pizza flour because the crust structure will be slightly different. 

What brings you to ask yourself, what’s in pizza flour?

What’s so special about it?

What is Pizza Flour?

Pizza flour is a specialized flour typically used to create pizzas, just as its name suggests. It has a higher gluten content and a softer texture.

Given that all-purpose flour contains less gluten content than pizza flour, it makes it less appealing to make pizza because it lacks the strength that a pizza crust requires to hold all the weight of the toppings. 

While you can use other flours to make pizza dough, pizza flour – often called the 00 flour – is the best when using a high-temperature oven or wood-fired oven.  

Pizza flour usually has an excellent texture, making an incredibly soft dough ideal for making pizza and pasta because it allows for fabulous texture, elasticity, and structure.

What’s in Pizza Flour?

Pizza flour usually contains the lowest level of bran compared to other types of flour. Most of the time, it also has a gluten content of around 12.5%. 

It also has an excellent, almost powdery texture. It should be similar to that baby powder when you touch it, and you should not feel any tiny bits or chunks. 

It also has a considerably lower water absorption compared to other types.

The texture is also vital. When it comes to flour, there is a specific grading system, from 00 to 2. 

While you can use Grade 2 flour for general purposes, the 00 flour – often called pizza or pasta flour – is best for making dough or pasta. 

You can create a soft and chewy pizza like those you buy from stores with this flour.

What is High-Gluten Content?

You might have heard of gluten content in the past if you have baked before. Gluten – particularly high gluten – for making pizza dough is an important topic. 

The amount of gluten is the deciding factor on whether the pizza you make will be stretchy and if it can rise when you start baking. With high gluten, you can make the pizza chewier and more elastic. 

It is also an essential component in making your pizza more structured to hold all the toppings. You can control how flexible and how firm your pizza will be with the suitable gluten amount.

How to Turn All-Purpose Flour into Pizza Flour

You might be thinking that to create the best pizza; you can only use pizza flour.

However, if there is no available pizza flour in your grocery store, you can turn your general all-purpose flour into pizza flour. To make it, consider the main difference between the two types of flour.

Now that you have learned what pizza flour is, there might be two things on your mind – the gluten content and the fineness. 

You might not be able to change the overall texture of your all-purpose flour because you would need a mill for that, but you can increase its gluten content so that it can transform into an excellent pizza flour alternative.

Add Vital Wheat Gluten to All-Purpose Flour

Adding vital wheat gluten to all-purpose flour is crucial to turning all-purpose flour into pizza flour. The vital wheat gluten is purified wheat gluten that you can easily find in groceries or online stores. 

This particular product can help you increase the gluten content of your all-purpose flour to reach the exact amount that pizza flours usually have.

What is Vital Wheat Gluten?

Vital Wheat Gluten is not flour, but wheat flour is used to make it.  

Wheat gluten is created by soaking wheat flour to activate the gluten (a protein found in wheat) and then processing it to remove everything but the gluten. It is finally dried and processed into a powder.

Because it’s nearly pure gluten, a little goes a long way toward increasing the dough’s elasticity and rise, as well as the crumb and chewiness of the finished goods.

How to Add Vital Wheat Gluten

To add the vital wheat gluten, you will need to add it to your flour before adding water. Place it on top of your current all-purpose flour, and then whisk or sift it to mix it. 

There is no particular task for you – you need to ensure that you have combined both the vital wheat gluten and the all-purpose flour properly before you start using it for dough. 

Ensure that you add the essential wheat gluten before using any liquid ingredients, or it may not work correctly.

How Much Vital Wheat Gluten Should You Use?

To transform your all-purpose flour to pizza flour, you would only need to add vital wheat gluten. 

However, while the process is easy, you must use the right amount of vital gluten wheat not to go past or fail to pass the amount you need.

The first thing you need to do is determine your all-purpose flour’s current natural gluten content. The packaging contains the amount of vital wheat gluten that you should add most of the time. 

If you don’t have the directions on the package, here’s what to do:

All-purpose flour usually has protein content ranging from 9% to 12%. 

However, since not all the protein content might be just from gluten, we advise you to consider the current gluten content of 9% for a safe estimate.

• Take the amount of flour you are using and get 3% of the total grams for the dough. That should be the amount in grams of your vital wheat gluten. 

• Since pizza flours usually have 12% to 13% gluten content, this is the amount that your all-purpose flour should reach. That is your gluten content goal. You want to get 12% and have 9% from the all-purpose flour; you need 3% (12% – 9%= 3%).

Easy right! 

Note: Adjust accordingly if your all-purpose flour contains more or less than 9%.

Here’s What the Pros at Homemade Pizza Pro Use and Recommend

Making Pizza Flour

While you can create an excellent pizza using its specialized flour, you can do it even with the essential ingredients that you can find in your nearby stores. 

As long as you have vital gluten wheat with you, you can transform your all-purpose flour into a great pizza dough by increasing its gluten amount.

You will only need to mix it with your flour correctly. The hard part might be getting the proper measurements, but to make it easier – you can remember that 3% is the magic number. Take 3% of the total grams and use that amount for your vital wheat gluten.

Steps to Add Vital Wheat Gluten to All-Purpose Flour:

1. Take a bowl, and press the Tare button (this brings the scale to 0).
2. Add the flour to the bowl, and weigh your all-purpose flour in grams. For example, let’s say you have 500g of flour.
3. Multiply the weight of the flour by .03 (500 x .03 = 15)
4. Take a small bowl, place it on the scale, press the Tare button again, and add vital wheat gluten until it reads 15 grams.
5. Add the Vital Wheat Gluten to the flour and mix with a whisk or fork.

Here’s the Scale the PROs at Homemade Pizza Pro Use and Recommend

Additional Dough Enhancers Articles

The Last Slice

To learn more about vital wheat gluten, check our Vital Wheat Gluten the Magic Ingredient article.

By learning how to turn all-purpose flour into pizza flour, we hope you can create the chewiest and most delicious homemade pizza you can. 

It might take a few times to master this process – but it will be worthwhile, and once you are familiar with measuring the necessary quantities, you will have an easier time doing it again and again!

Additional Flour Resources

Enjoy!

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