Pizza ingredients
Flour, tomatoes, cheese, and yeast all have measurable specifications that predict how they will behave. This section explains which number matters for each, so you can buy on specification instead of on packaging.
How to buy ingredients on spec · Dough and fermentation
In short
One governing specification per ingredient, each tied to an observable outcome in the finished pizza. We cite technical data sheets rather than marketing copy, and where a manufacturer publishes no technical data we say so — because that absence is itself worth knowing before you pay a premium.
Who this is for
- Bakers buying on price and packaging because nobody explains what to look at
- Anyone whose dough collapsed on a long ferment and suspects the flour
- Cooks trying to work out whether a protected label is worth the money
When to use this
- Before you buy flour for a schedule longer than a day
- When a formula calls for something your shop does not stock
- When you want to judge an ingredient that publishes no specification at all
The spec that matters, by ingredient
| Ingredient | What to check | What it predicts |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | Protein content and W value, not the type number | How much water it carries and how long a ferment it survives |
| Canned tomatoes | Variety, processing, and what the label legally requires | Sweetness, acidity, and how much water it releases |
| Mozzarella | Moisture and fat content | Whether it browns or floods the pizza |
| Yeast | Format and viability, plus quantity relative to schedule | Fermentation rate and predictability |
| Salt, oil, sugar | Percentage of flour weight | Fermentation control, extensibility, and browning |
| Dusting flour or semola | Burn behaviour at your bake temperature | Whether the launch works and how the base tastes |
- How to buy pizza ingredients on spec instead of packaging
- Pizza flour explained: protein, W value, and why "00" isn't a grade
- Canned tomatoes: what "San Marzano DOP" actually guarantees
- Fior di latte vs low-moisture mozzarella
- Salt, oil, and sugar in pizza dough
- Cooked vs uncooked pizza sauce
- What to dust your peel with
- Converting between fresh, active dry, and instant yeast
The "00" misconception
This is one of the most repeated ingredient errors in pizza, so it is worth stating plainly here: the type number describes how finely the flour is milled, not how strong it is.
A flour can be finely milled and weak, or coarsely milled and strong. What you actually need to match to your fermentation schedule is protein content and, where published, the W value. A bread flour is frequently the closer match to what a formula requires.
When no specification is published
A great deal of retail packaging carries no technical data at all. That is a real limitation on buying well, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
Where that happens, our pages give a fallback method — what you can judge from the product itself, from the way it behaves in a first bake, and from what the label does legally guarantee.
We do not recommend brands. Brand recommendations date badly, vary by region, and quietly become the point of the page.
Labels and what they legally require
Protected designations guarantee specific things — usually variety, origin, and process — and leave others entirely open. That distinction is where most of the money is wasted.
Where we describe what a label requires, we link the specification, name the jurisdiction, and record the date the source was checked. Claims without direct support from the source document are omitted.
Where to go next
Frequently asked questions
Do I need 00 flour to make good pizza?
No. You need flour of the right strength for your schedule. The type number tells you about milling fineness, not strength, and plenty of excellent pizza is made with bread flour.
What is a W value and why can't I find it?
It is a measure of flour strength used in professional milling, and it is often absent from retail packaging because it is aimed at trade buyers. Where it is missing, protein content is the next best proxy.
Are San Marzano DOP tomatoes worth the price?
Sometimes. The designation guarantees variety, origin, and process — not that a given tin will taste better than a good alternative. Knowing what it does and does not cover is what stops the premium being wasted.
Which mozzarella should I use?
It depends on your bake length. Higher-moisture cheese suits a very short, hot bake and floods a long one. Moisture and fat content explain most of the difference between the options.
Can I leave the oil out of a dough recipe?
Often yes, with consequences for extensibility and tenderness rather than catastrophe. Some styles conventionally include it and some conventionally do not; the salt, oil, and sugar page covers what each is doing.
Why don't you recommend specific brands?
Because availability varies by region, formulations change, and brand recommendations quietly become the purpose of the page. Specifications travel better and stay true longer.
Do you earn commission on ingredients?
Not currently. If affiliate links are ever added to ingredient pages, they will be disclosed above the fold and will not change what is recommended.
Take the specs with you
Buying on spec condenses this section into what to check on a label or a data sheet before you buy: strength for flour, variety and processing for tomatoes, moisture and fat for cheese.