Manitoba flour is flour made from common wheat, and Manitoba flour is popularly used in Italy. Generally, Manitoba flour is used in Italy, and most Italians will tell you that the only flour you should use for Italian recipes is Manitoba flour.
If you want to make an Italian recipe and do not have any Manitoba flour, you may be looking for Manitoba flour substitutes. I did some research, and here are some great Manitoba flour substitutes!
Manitoba Flour Substitutes
1. Rye Flour
Rye flour is flour made from finely milled rye grains, and rye is considered hardy cereal grass. Generally, rye flour can be a great substitute for Manitoba flour, particularly in bread recipes since rye flour is popularly used to make bread.
However, rye flour is not ideal as a Manitoba flour substitute by itself, which is why rye flour should be mixed with another type of flour. Rye flour is very difficult to handle as a dough and the gluten in rye flour is different from Manitoba flour.
Generally, you can use rye flour as 25% of the total flour in the recipe. Ideally, the rest of the flour should be a type of wheat flour.
2. Bread Flour
One of the best alternatives for Manitoba flour is bread flour because they are very similar. Bread flour contains a lot of gluten and is made from hard spring wheat, which makes bread flour a lot like Manitoba flour.
Bread flour will give you a good amount of gluten to create an elastic dough and good structure in your dishes. Normally, you can use bread flour in equal amounts to Manitoba flour.
3. Whole Wheat Flour
Normally, whole wheat flour can be a decent substitute for Manitoba flour when you are making bread. However, it has to be pure whole wheat flour because 100% whole wheat flour is created from hard wheat, which is similar to what Manitoba flour is made of.
While whole wheat flour has a lot of gluten, the bran and germ in whole wheat flour make it hard for gluten to develop. Therefore, your bread would be very dense and heavy.
If you want to use whole wheat flour to make bread, do not let your dough rise twice its size. Instead, let the dough rise to 1 ½ time the dough’s size to allow the gluten to support the rise.
4. White Whole Wheat Flour
Another type of whole wheat flour that can be used to replace Manitoba flour is white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is much lighter and has a sweeter taste than pure whole wheat flour.
5. Semolina Flour
Semolina flour is a type of flour created from hard durum wheat. Typically, semolina flour is best used to replace Manitoba flour in pasta recipes.
Typically, semolina flour is not as elastic as other types of durum wheat flour. Therefore, semolina flour is best used for pasta recipes that have thick and rough shapes.
6. Cassava Flour
If you want a gluten-free alternative to Manitoba flour, cassava flour can be a good choice. Cassava flour is flour made from dried cassava roots and cassava flour has a soft texture with a neutral flavor.
However, it is important to note that handling gluten-free flour like cassava flour is not easy. You will need to make some adjustments before using cassava flour.
Normally, you can use cassava flour in an equal ratio to Manitoba flour, but only if you have high-quality cassava flour. Moreover, you may want to add more liquid to your recipe if your dough is too dry.
7. Durum Flour
Durum flour is flour made from durum wheat and is often best used to make soft pasta shapes like spaghetti because durum flour is pliable. Moreover, durum flour is a great substitute for Manitoba flour because durum flour is also high in gluten.
Semolina flour is also made from the durum wheat plant. However, semolina flour is not to be confused with durum flour because they have different properties.
For instance, semolina flour is the flour that is taken from the first grinding of durum wheat, which makes semolina flour coarse. Durum flour is taken from the leftover finely ground durum wheat, making durum wheat more refined.
8. Caputo Nuvola Flour
Caputo Nuvola flour is considered type 0 flour, which means Caputo Nuvola flour is a bit coarser than 00 flour. Generally, Caputo Nuvola flour has a darker color than 00 flour and uses 70% of the grain.
Typically, Caputo Nuvola flour is best used as an alternative to Manitoba flour in pizza crust recipes. Caputo Nuvola flour is great for pizza dough that requires a lot of hydration.
Generally, Caputo Nuvola flour will provide a puffy and light crust. Moreover, Caputo Nuvola flour is great for Neopolitan-style pizza because Caputo Nuvola flour has enough strength to handle a longer leaving time.
9. 00 Flour
00 flour, which may also be called 00-grade flour or doppio zero, is a type of flour commonly used to make pizza in Italy. 00 flour generally has 8-12% gluten and has a very fine texture.
Normally, 00 flour is used to create pizza, but you can also use 00 flour to make soft-baked recipes. Plus, 00 flour can work for some pasta recipes, but you will need to add flour made from hard wheat.
10. Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
If you want to make a dessert with Manitoba flour, unbleached all-purpose flour can make a decent substitute. Unbleached all-purpose flour has less gluten than Manitoba flour, but unbleached all-purpose flour can be a replacement in a pinch.
To find out about masa flour substitutes, brown rice substitutes, and what semolina flour is, read our other articles.
Conclusion
If you have seen Italians talk about what flour they use, Italian people likely say they use Manitoba flour. Manitoba flour has a high gluten content that is used for many recipes.
If you do not have any Manitoba flour, you can opt for various substitutes depending on the recipe. For instance, bread flour can replace Manitoba flour for bread while durum wheat can replace Manitoba flour for pasta.