Can I use all-purpose flour for pizza dough?

Yes. The crust will be less chewy and can spread more in the oven. Use a little less water than a bread-flour recipe, about 60% instead of 65%, and give it a cold night if you can. Gold Medal Bread Flour or King Arthur Bread Flour is the upgrade when you next shop.

Is bread flour better than all-purpose for pizza?

For a New York slice in a home oven, yes. More protein, more chew, a rim that holds a fold. 00 flour such as Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour is for a very hot pizza oven, not because the bag looks Italian.

A bag of bread flour, the better supermarket swap for all-purpose

Yes, with less water

All-purpose flour for pizza

Can you use all-purpose flour for pizza dough? Yes. What you give up versus bread flour and 00, and how to adjust the water so the dough still stretches.

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Measurements

All-purpose flour will make a pizza. It will not make the chewiest one. The bag in the photo is bread flour, which is what to buy instead the next time you are in the shop. If all-purpose is what you have tonight, bake tonight.

Which bag

Pick	Chew	Home oven	90-second oven	Supermarket
All-purpose	Sometimes	Yes	No	Yes
Bread flour	Yes	Yes	Sometimes	Yes
00 flour	Sometimes	Sometimes	Yes	No

Tick = yes. Dash = no or not the job. Bar = only sometimes.

What to buy

Every row is a product we would buy. The tomato button opens Amazon. Prices and stock live there.

Gold Medal Bread Flour
Bread Flour
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King Arthur Bread Flour
Bread Flour
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Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour
Flour
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Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust Flour
Flour
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Use the New York Pizza Dough or Same-Day Pizza Dough method and hold back a spoon of water. All-purpose absorbs less than bread flour. Too much water is how this dough becomes the sticky problem on the other page.

Do not use all-purpose in a 480°C (900°F) oven and expect a Neapolitan leopard. That bake wants Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour. A kitchen oven at 290°C (550°F) is happier with bread flour. The longer comparison is Caputo 00 vs King Arthur pizza flour.

Common questions

Can I use all-purpose flour for pizza dough?: Yes. The crust will be less chewy and can spread more in the oven. Use a little less water than a bread-flour recipe, about 60% instead of 65%, and give it a cold night if you can. Gold Medal Bread Flour or King Arthur Bread Flour is the upgrade when you next shop.
Is bread flour better than all-purpose for pizza?: For a New York slice in a home oven, yes. More protein, more chew, a rim that holds a fold. 00 flour such as Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour is for a very hot pizza oven, not because the bag looks Italian.