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Only those who aren’t professional chefs struggle to choose between various types of available flour. After all, they are all relatively interchangeable in most recipes.
The difference between flour types is mainly classified by the milling and the protein content, both of which determine their place in specific recipes.
We’ll be taking you through a comparison of cake flour vs. 00 flour so that you always know which is best to use.
What Is Cake Flour?
Cake flour is a low protein flour with a fine consistency. With less protein and less gluten formation than 00 flour, it’s the variety that’s ideal for soft, fluffy baked goods.
It’s the perfect variety for cakes and biscuits rather than bread. You’ll find a range of desserts such as pancakes, waffles, and flapjacks using cake flour due to the low gluten content, which produces a light consistency instead of something dense and sticky.
What Is 00 Flour?
The term 00 flour defines different things based on where you are in the world. In the US, flours are graded according to their protein content and the amount of gluten produced.
However, in Italy and various other parts of Europe, flour is categorized by the texture of how fine it is ground. Double zero flour is the finest, the most refined grind of flour available. Type 2 flour would be the coarsest.
Coincidentally, very fine flour as graded 00 in Europe is also lower in protein, so it’s often confused for low-protein pastry flour and other flours in the US.
Most of the double zero flour found in the United States is made from durum wheat and comes with a medium-range concentration of protein and gluten. Most good 00 flour is made from soft wheat and provides between 11 to 12.5% protein content.
Cake Flour vs 00 Flour: What’s The Difference?
| Cake Flour | 00 Flour | |
| Protein | 11 grams | 13g |
| Recipes | Pastries, Cookies, Cakes | Pizza, Pasta, White Bread |
| Gluten | 6.5-9% | 12-14% |
| Availability | Ready Availability Everywhere Except Europe | Readily Available Globally |
| Affordability | Cheap | Reasonably Priced |
Cake Flour
Most of us are familiar with three basic types of flour—all-purpose, bread, and cake flour. It’s the go-to for all baked goods and can be substituted for 00 in a pinch. So let’s look at the specifics of this fine flour.
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- Protein Content
Cake flour is one of the lowest-protein flour types available. At 6-7% protein in the average cake flour, it’s almost half the protein count of most American Double Zero. So expect around 11 grams of protein per cup of cake flour.
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- Recipes
As its name suggests, cake flour is ideal for pastries, cookies, and cakes. Its fine texture is milled from fluffy, delicate varieties of wheat. This makes it suitable for airy and spongy cakes, tarts, and thickening sauces.
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- Gluten
Cake flour is very low in gluten because of being relatively low in protein. This makes it perfect for non-gooey and chewy recipes. Expect to find between 7.5 to 9% gluten in cake flour.
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- Availability
You may struggle to find cake flour in Europe. However, in the US and most other regions, it is easy to find and readily available.
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- Affordability
Cake flour is highly affordable. In most parts of the world, it is drastically cheaper than Italian 00 flour.
00 Flour
If you’re looking to make the perfect pizza, then you have to have 00 flour. Ideally, double zero flour is the most refined flour you’ll find. So let’s take a closer look at its characteristics.
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- Protein Content
The protein content of 00 flour is extremely variable. Double Zero flour’s protein content depends on the exact flour being ground, but most contain roughly 13 grams of protein per cup.
However, it can be equally as low or just as high as all-purpose flour. Please check the specifics of each 00 flour brand packaged.
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- Recipes
Italian 00 flour is most commonly used for famous baked goods like pizza and fresh handmade pasta. However, it’s the same flour you’ll find used to whip up fresh bases and pasta in the streets of Italy.
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- Gluten
The Italian favorite, 00 flour, is high in gluten, making it perfect for pasta and pizza use. Double zero flour will have between 12 and 14% gluten on average.
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- Availability
Differences between grades and protein withstanding, 00 flour is available in both the US and Europe and most of the rest of the world.
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- Affordability
The highly refined consistency of 00 flour makes it much higher priced than cake flour. However, most cooks find the expense well worth it for classic recipes.
Cake Flour vs 00 Flour – Are They Interchangeable?
Baking cakes and other desserts with 00 flour will work, but the consistency will be much finer and a lot denser. However, substituting cake flour in the place of double zero flour grants similar results.
We don’t recommend swapping the other way around because most of the time, sweet baked goods like cake call for a lighter overall consistency.
If you want the best pizza dough possible, go for the highest protein/gluten concentration of double zero flour available.