How to choose the right flour W index/strength ?

In this article, we will discuss the strength of flour and answer two questions on this topic:

1. How do you choose the W or strength of your flour?

2. How do you know the strength of your flour?

   
   

Everything we will discuss in this article concerns flour obtained from a specific cereal: soft wheat or Triticum Aestivum.

The W-index or flour's strength indicates a flour's ability to create a structure that is resistant and tenacious. This structure is called the gluten network.

Gluten network, whose elasticity is impacted by the flour's strength

So, what strength should you choose for your pizzas? It depends mainly on the type of product you want to make. The reason is simple: the strength level of the flour is one of the factors that will affect the structure of our dough, and the structure we need varies depending on the product we are making.

The structure of a Neapolitan pizza, for example, will not be the same as that of a Roman pizza in teglia or a focaccia, or even a panettone (if we move away from the world of pizza).

The soft wheat flours available today for pizza making have a strength between W270 and W400. Within this range we can identify to groups:

• Medium strength four : between W270 and W330. Flours in this range can be used for round pizzas, such as Neapolitan pizza, and in general for direct dough preparation, where a balance of tenacity and extensibility is required. Depending on how the resting time is managed, these flours can withstand short to medium resting times, ranging from 6 hours at room temperature to 48 hours at a controlled temperature (the fridge).      

Neapolitan pizza uses medium strength flour in order to achieve a balanced gluten

• Strong flours between W340 and W400 : these flours are suitable for products with high hydration or for products where a more developed structure is desired, such as the roman Pizza in Teglia, or for indirect dough preparation such as biga. Resting times can be up to 48 hours at controlled temperature. These flours offers high resistance, tenacity and a great water absorption capability.      

The last question we need to answer is the following: how do you determine the strength of a flour?

The strength value of a flour is calculated in a laboratory using a tool called the Chopin Alveograph.

The tool Chopin Alveograph used to measure flour's strength W

The measurement is normally carried out by the mill. For this reason, only the mill can give us correct and accurate information about the strength of the flour. The strength of a flour is normally listed in its technical data sheet, created by the mill. Sometimes, the strength is even indicated directly on the package of our flour.