Caputo is the flour most associated with Neapolitan pizza. Ken Forkish reports that about 90% of pizzerias in and around Naples use flour from this one mill, which has been milling since 1924. It makes several pizza flours, and the three you are most likely to find in a 1 kg home bag are the blue Pizzeria, the red Chef’s Flour and Nuvola.
The bags differ less than their reputations suggest. The useful differences are strength (the W number), a little protein, the flour grade, and what Caputo designs each one for.
The three bags at a glance
Specifications as published by Caputo and its US importer, Orlando Foods, checked October 14, 2026.
| Bag | Grade | Protein | W | P/L | Caputo designs it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizzeria (blue) | 00 | 12.5% | 260–280 | 0.50–0.60 | Classic Neapolitan pizza in a very hot oven |
| Chef’s Flour / Saccorosso (red) | 00 | 13% | 300–320 | 0.50–0.60 | Long, cold rises; Caputo USA also says home ovens |
| Nuvola | 0 | 12.5% | 270–290 | 0.50–0.60 | Airy, open rims; focaccia and pan pizza |
W is the alveograph strength number, and P/L is the balance between a dough’s resistance and its stretch. Both are explained in reading Italian flour specs. The figures vary slightly by market: Orlando Foods lists the blue bag at W 260–270, while Caputo’s Italian and US consumer sites say 260–280. Treat them as ranges, not measurements of the bag in your hand.
Pizzeria (blue bag)
This is Caputo’s signature flour, the one Orlando Foods describes for traditional Neapolitan pizza baked at 800°F and above. Forkish found it the bag he saw most often in Neapolitan pizzerias and says it makes more extensible (less springy) gluten than the red bag. Antimo Caputo gave him the reason that matters in Naples: at Da Michele, which makes about 800 pizzas a day, each ball has to be stretched in about three turns of the hands.
In a pizza oven. This is what the blue bag is for. In an outdoor gas or wood oven with the stone at 750 to 850°F (400 to 450°C), a Neapolitan-style pizza bakes in one to two minutes, and a soft, extensible dough is exactly what you want.
In a home oven. It works well, provided you adapt the dough. Forkish bakes his Neapolitan-style pizzas at 550°F (290°C) on a steel or stone with Caputo flour, raising the water to 70% of the flour weight so the crust stays tender through a longer bake. He calls the results light and delicate. The site’s Planner uses the same 70% adaptation for home ovens.
The one thing the blue bag won’t do is help with color. Caputo’s US site says its flours are made with wheat and only wheat, with no extra additives, and the blue bag’s ingredients list no malt. Modernist Pizza notes that long fermentations use up the dough’s simple sugars, which can leave a dull crust. If a home-oven pizza comes out pale, a longer preheat and a broiler finish come first; diastatic malt is the optional extra.
Chef’s Flour / Saccorosso (red bag)
The red bag goes by different names. In the US the 1 kg bag is “Chef’s Flour”; the 15 and 25 kg sacks are “Saccorosso,” which Orlando Foods calls the 25 kg version of the 1 kg Chef’s Flour. Caputo’s current specification is 13% protein and W 300–320. Forkish, writing in 2016, gave it about 13.5% protein.
The extra strength buys fermentation tolerance. Caputo describes Saccorosso for long resting times and prolonged rises in the fridge. Forkish says the red bag works better for very long rises: he uses it, or bread flour, for the biga in his 48-to-72-hour dough, then blends in the blue bag or all-purpose flour for the final mix. Caputo USA also markets the red bag for home ovens.
The trade-off is elasticity. Forkish notes the red bag gives “more elasticity to the dough,” so a young dough springs back more when you stretch it. A long cold ferment relaxes it.
Nuvola
Nuvola (“cloud”) is the newest of the three. Modernist Pizza reports that Caputo introduced it to help pizzerias make the big, puffy canotto rims of contemporary Neapolitan pizza. It also points out that the flour helps but doesn’t make the style: high hydration and long fermentation do most of the work.
Caputo now sells Nuvola as a type 0 flour, a grade with slightly more of the outer grain than 00, at 12.5% protein and W 270–290. It describes it as a versatile flour for focaccia, pan pizza and contemporary pizza with open, honeycombed rims. Modernist Pizza (2021) lists it as a 00, so the grade has changed since; check the bag you buy.
Two practical notes:
- Availability. Mulino Caputo sells Nuvola in a 1 kg bag; how easy it is to find in the US varies by retailer. Orlando Foods also sells Nuvola Super (type 0, 13.5% protein, W 320–340) in 5 and 25 kg sacks, a stronger, separate flour made for preferments such as biga and poolish and for high-hydration doughs.
- Schedule. Caputo’s own guidance for a classic dough with Nuvola is long: about 48 hours in the fridge and 24 at room temperature.
Which bag for your oven
| Your pizza | Bake (the Planner’s protocol) | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan-style, outdoor gas or wood oven | 750–850°F stone, 1–2 min | Pizzeria (blue) |
| Neapolitan-style, home oven on a steel or stone | 500–550°F, 6–10 min | Either 00 bag at about 70% hydration; red for longer cold ferments |
| Any dough fermented for two days or more in the fridge | Any | Chef’s Flour (red), the more forgiving choice |
| Contemporary Neapolitan with a big, open rim | Pizza oven | Nuvola, or Nuvola Super with a preferment |
| New York, Detroit or Sicilian-style | Home oven | Americana Super, or American bread or high-gluten flour |
The rest of Caputo’s pizza range
Caputo makes more pizza flours than the three home bags. Some are sold mainly in Italy and some only through Orlando Foods in large sacks, so availability varies.
| Flour | Grade | Protein | W | Caputo designs it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classica | 00 extra | 12% | 220–240 | Short rises; light, soft bread |
| A metro (pizza by the metre) | 00 | 13.5% | 310–330 | Pizza by the metre, pan pizza, focaccia |
| Aria | 0 | 13% | 300–320 | Pinsa and Roman pan pizza; contains inactive dried sourdough, not a substitute for yeast or a starter |
| Nuvola Super | 0 | 13.5% | 320–340 | Preferments and high-hydration doughs |
| Americana | 00 | 14.25% | 360–380 | New York and neo-Neapolitan pizza, at lower oven temperatures than Pizzeria |
| Americana Super | 00 | 15.25% | 380–400 | New York, Detroit, Sicilian, focaccia; long cold ferments of over 72 hours |
Specifications as published by Mulino Caputo (Classica, A metro) and Orlando Foods (Aria, Nuvola Super, Americana, Americana Super), checked October 14, 2026. W is the mill’s published range, so use it to compare flours from one mill, not as a precise property of a bag; reading Italian flour specs explains why.
A note on Americana and malt. Orlando Foods’ current Americana page lists one ingredient, soft wheat flour type 00, and doesn’t mention malt. Some retailer descriptions say it contains malted wheat. If malt matters to your recipe, check the ingredient list on your bag.
Do you need Caputo at all?
No. Modernist Pizza ordered dozens of flours, ran blind triangle taste tests, and concluded that you don’t have to use Caputo, though it gives solid results, especially for Neapolitan-style pizza. Its recommended flours for Neapolitan dough are Le 5 Stagioni Pizza Napoletana 00, Caputo Pizzeria 00 and Polselli Classica 00. The book credits Caputo’s consistency partly to milling in many small stages, 32 rollers in all, which limits starch damage.
Forkish’s restaurant uses a lower-protein American flour from Shepherd’s Grain, and he alternated it with Caputo while testing his book’s recipes; both worked well. For New York, pan and other American styles, a good bread flour is the usual choice and is easier to find.
Storage
Caputo lists a shelf life of 12 months from production for these flours. That’s the maker’s guidance for storing a sealed bag, not a guarantee for an opened one. Keep the bag sealed in a cool, dry place, and use it at room temperature: Forkish calibrates his water temperatures for unrefrigerated flour.
Sources
- Mulino Caputo: product specifications for Pizzeria (1 kg and 25 kg), Saccorosso, Nuvola, Nuvola Super, A metro and Classica, checked October 14, 2026.
- Caputo USA: “00” Pizzeria Flour and “00” Chef’s Flour product pages, checked October 14, 2026.
- Orlando Foods (Caputo’s US importer): “00” Pizzeria, “00” Saccorosso, “0” Nuvola Super, “0” Aria, “00” Americana and “00” Americana Super product pages, checked October 14, 2026.
- Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, Modernist Pizza (2021), volume 1, pages 134–135 (Nuvola and canotto-style pizza), 278–283 (the W number, 00 flour, Caputo’s milling and blind tests, and recommended flours, including Nuvola listed as a 00) and 315 (sugar depletion in long fermentation).
- Ken Forkish, The Elements of Pizza (2016), chapters 2 and 4 (Neapolitan-style pizza in a home oven; Caputo’s blue and red bags) and chapter 6 (the 48-to-72-hour biga dough).