Caputo Nuvola vs Nuvola Super: Which Flour Should You Choose?

Do not be led by the word “Super”. Caputo Nuvola Super is not simply a better version of Nuvola. It is a stronger flour that leaves more structural reserve for a more demanding dough process.

For an ordinary direct dough, I would start with Nuvola. It works from classic Neapolitan pizza to wetter dough with a light, puffy cornicione (the pizza rim). Nuvola Super makes more sense when you plan higher hydration, a longer process or a preferment, especially a larger share of biga.

• Nuvola is the simpler starting point. I would choose it for direct dough and a light, puffy rim.
• Nuvola Super gives more structural reserve. It makes sense with higher hydration, a longer process and a larger proportion of biga or poolish.
• A stronger flour has no clock of its own. Match fermentation time to flour strength and your day in the Pandough calculator.

Nuvola does not require extreme hydration. At 60–65% it gives a classic dough that is easier to handle. At 65–70%, it moves toward a lighter, more open rim. Find the full details in the Caputo Nuvola flour card.

• Type: 0
• W strength: 270–290
• Protein: 12.5%
• P/L: 0.50–0.60
• Pandough working hydration: 60–70%

• mainly make direct dough
• usually work around 60–70% hydration
• want a light, puffy rim without reaching for a very strong flour
• bake classic Neapolitan pizza, contemporary pizza, focaccia or pizza in a pan (pizza in teglia)
• are getting to know Nuvola and want to begin at about 65%

Here the difference is specific. Nuvola Super has 13.5% protein and W 320–340, clearly more than regular Nuvola's W 270–290. Caputo gives the same P/L range of 0.50–0.60.² Find the full details in the Caputo Nuvola Super flour card.

Caputo describes Super as flour for pizza and focaccia, explicitly naming both preferments and direct doughs.²

Higher W helps when you ask more of the dough: more water, a long process or a formula with a preferment, where part of the flour ferments before the final dough is made.

It does not mean Super automatically makes a bigger rim, or that it needs 48 or 72 hours of fermentation. W describes flour properties measured with an alveograph, not a compulsory recipe time.

• Type: 0
• W strength: 320–340
• Protein: 13.5%
• P/L: 0.50–0.60
• Pandough working hydration: 66–73%

• regularly work at higher hydration
• plan a longer dough process and want more structural reserve
• use biga or poolish
• increase the preferment proportion and regular Nuvola begins to constrain the process
• want the formula to begin with a stronger flour, rather than rescue an over-demanding plan with mixing technique alone

PRO TIP If you have a dependable 65% Nuvola recipe, do not merely swap in Super and expect a bigger rim. Change flour when you want to change the process too. For a first try with Super, set Pandough to around 68%, keep your oven and fermentation temperatures, then see how the whole plan behaves.

With a stronger flour, set fermentation so gluten has time to relax while the dough keeps the strength needed for shaping and baking. Match fermentation to your day in the Pandough calculator.

During resting and fermentation, dough changes. The gluten network can gradually lose some elasticity, and proteolytic processes can contribute to that weakening.^3,4

Dough temperature, yeast dose and type, salt, hydration, fridge fermentation and final-proof temperature can alter a schedule far more than the difference between two bags of flour.

In Farina Prima, the flour-first method, strength is one parameter that tells us what process a flour can comfortably carry. We do not use W as a timer.

Pandough's ranges for Nuvola Super are about 3–5 percentage points higher than for the standard version. It may look modest, but it noticeably changes the dough's mechanical behaviour.^5,6 It becomes slacker and stickier, and needs a surer hand in mixing and shaping.

Start at lower hydration. Once you know the flour, increase the water gradually. Higher hydration affects more than rim lightness: it changes fermentation, dough maturation and how the disc shapes. Recalculate the schedule after adding water so the dough still has enough strength at bake time.

Caputo Nuvola Super is a good choice for preferments such as poolish and biga. Higher protein and W help it retain structure through an extended fermentation process.² In the Pandough calculator, you can set a preferment plan that builds flavour while preserving the right strength in the main dough.

That does not mean you cannot use regular Nuvola for biga. You can. Caputo itself publishes biga recipes for Nuvola too.¹

Read more about choosing and managing a preferment in Pizza preferments: poolish, biga and sourdough.

• want a light pizza at around 60–70% hydration
• work with straightforward direct dough
• do not need Super's additional strength
• want Neapolitan or contemporary pizza with a puffy rim
• want the simpler reference point

• plan higher hydration
• have a process that is longer or more demanding of structure
• regularly use biga or poolish
• want to increase the preferment proportion
• knowingly need a higher W, rather than simply a bag labelled “Super”

If your current plan works well with regular Nuvola, changing to Super alone is not an upgrade to the formula.

Caputo Nuvola and Nuvola Super in the calculator

Switch between Caputo Nuvola and Caputo Nuvola Super and watch the optimal-dough parameters change.

NuvolaSuper

Hydration68.0%

68%

Ball count

4

4

Ball weight29 cm

250 g

250 g

g

Ingredients

0/4

Flour

585g

Water 25°C

398g

Salt

15g

Fresh Yeast

2.11g

Open the full calculator

If you use a preferment rather than direct dough, enable biga or poolish mode. Pandough counts the preferment's flour and water in the whole formula.

If you are still choosing between a classic Caputo bag and Nuvola, see Caputo Pizzeria vs Nuvola: Which Flour Should You Choose?.

For Nuvola, I would start at 65%.

For Super, 68%.

Not because these are “optimal” figures for every oven and pizza. They are Pandough starting points that let you learn the flour without beginning at an extreme hydration.

With 500 g flour, that means:

• Nuvola at 65%: 325 g water
• Nuvola Super at 68%: 340 g water

Then change one parameter at a time. If you want to find out whether you truly need Super's extra strength, only the next try should raise hydration or extend the process.