Saurabh00 flour is a staple ingredient in Italian cooking, especially when making homemade pizza dough and pasta.
It is milled to the finest that it can possibly be, making it finer than regular flour, thus yielding a smooth texture to pasta and pizza. Many recipes call for it and it helps make a smoother overall texture to your dough.
However, 00 flour is not always available in grocery stores, so what if you cannot get it?
There are many substitutes that you can use instead of this flour and still make your recipes and yield successful results. Some of the best substitutes for 00 flour include bread flour, pastry flour, all-purpose flour, wholewheat flour, and semolina flour among others.
Best 00 Flour Substitutes
If you don’t have 00 flour at hand, you can use the following substitutes and still achieve great results.
1. Bread Flour
Bread flour is the best substitute for 00 flour when making pizza.
It has a high gluten content, making sure that the dough will still be smooth and stretchy. Although it is not as fine as 00 flour, it will still work and will yield you great pizza dough.
Bread flour has a lot of gluten in it, as does 00 flour, which is perfect for making pizza or bread dough as it yields a super chewy crust.
You can use the same amount of bread flour as 00 flour.
2. Pastry Flour
Pastry flour is a super delicate, fine flour that is a lot like 00 flour.
However, it does not have as much gluten. It is used for making more delicate pastries such as cakes and cookies and usually making them softer than using all-purpose flour.
It can also be referred to as cake flour and is usually available in supermarkets.
This can also be a great substitute for 00 flour, especially when making pasta because it yields a delicate, soft pasta dough that is perfect.
You can also use pastry flour for pizza dough but bread flour would still be a better alternative. You can also use pastry flour for cakes and cookies and this will yield you a light, delicate cake. Use the same amount of pastry flour as 00 flour.
3. All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour is the flour that is most commonly found in pantries. You can use it in almost any recipe, and it will work including recipes for cakes, pasta, and pizza dough.
However, note that the dough will not be as stretchy and springy. So, the texture of your product might not be what you expected, as there is less gluten in all-purpose flour.
Even if you knead your dough, it might not turn out as successfully as it would with the use of 00 flour. However, you can still use all-purpose flour instead of 00 flour in the same recipes.
You can use the same amount but start off with ¼ cup less as all-purpose flour is less fine than 00 flour.
4. Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour can be used instead of 00 flour in pasta, cakes, and pizza dough.
However, beware that the texture might change as the whole wheat flour could make pizza dough a little tougher. It is also not ground as fine.
So, it is recommended to use half the amount of whole wheat flour and half the amount of all-purpose flour so that the texture of your baked goods does not become too tough.
Whole wheat flour can add extra fiber and nutritional value to your doughs. Just make sure not to add too much to toughen the dough, and add half the amount of wholewheat flour and half the amount of all-purpose flour.
5. Semolina Flour
Semolina flour is a lot coarser and therefore would not work in pizza doughs, but it is a very popular flour used to make pasta doughs.
If you cannot find 00 flour, you can replace it with semolina flour in pasta, which would yield you a great pasta dough with great flavor.
You can add the same amount of semolina flour as 00 flour. But you might need to add a bit more water to the dough.
The most important thing is to keep an eye on the dough to make sure it is the correct texture.
6. Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour is a good gluten-free alternative that can be used in baked goods, as well as pasta. However, it will not work for pizza dough.
It does not have the right composition and will make your dough tough. You can use buckwheat for pasta, as it has been used in commercial kinds of pasta. You can substitute the full amount of 00 flour for buckwheat flour.
Or use half the amount of buckwheat flour and half the amount of all-purpose flour.
7. Oat Flour
Oat flour is a great gluten-free alternative for baking. Therefore, if you’re making a cake or cookies, you can replace the full amount of 00 flour with oat flour.
However, this will not work with pizza dough and pasta. Otherwise, the dough will not form with oat flour and your recipe will not work. However, it is a great alternative for baking, and can easily be made by blending oats until a fine powder is formed.
8. Gluten-Free Flour
You can buy gluten-free flour at most supermarkets and can replace the 00 flour in cakes, pasta, and dough with gluten-free flour by adding the same amount.
However, it is important to know that the dough for pizza might not be as soft and stretchy, so keep that in mind when using gluten-free flour.
This might also be the same with pasta, but it is less noticeable as the pasta will be boiled and it does not need to have a stretchy consistency.
FAQs
What is 00 flour?
00 flour is veey fine white flour from Italy, that has been ground much finer than all-purpose flour to yield a soft, stretchy dough. It also has a high gluten content making it the perfect dough to make pizza crusts with as it yields a sift, chewy pizza crust.
Is bread flour and 00 flour the same?
Bread flour is the best substitute for 00 flour, however, it is not the same. This flour is more coarsely ground than 00 flour and also has more gluten in it than 00 flour but is still a great flour to use when making pizza dough and pasta.
Can you make 00 flour out of all-purpose flour?
You cannot make 00 flour out of all-purpose flour. However, you can use all-purpose flour instead of 00 flour as it can be a good substitute.
If you have cake flour or pastry flour, this is also a great substitute for 00 flour. It is ground much finer than all-purpose flour and closer resemble 00 flour.
Can I use plain flour instead of 00 flour for pasta?
Yes, you can. 00 flour is best used for the pasta to yield a sifter dough but this can still be created with all-purpose flour.
Make sure to add a little less all-purpose flour as it is more coarsely ground than 00 flour and add more if needed to the dough until you get the right consistency.
