Pizza Dough Calculator

How to Use This Calculator

1. Enter the number of pizzas you want to make.
2. Set the dough ball weight in grams (250g = ~12" Neapolitan, 300g = NY style).
3. Choose your hydration % — 60% for Neapolitan, 62% for NY, 75% for Detroit.
4. The calculator returns flour, water, salt, and yeast in grams.
5. Use the Pro tier to adjust oil, sugar, and cold ferment time.

Formula

Example

Frequently Asked Questions

• What hydration should I use for pizza dough? ▼
  Hydration is the ratio of water weight to flour weight, expressed as a percentage. For Neapolitan pizza (baked at 850–900°F in a wood-fired oven), 60–65% hydration is traditional; at lower temperatures like a home oven the AVPN recommends 58–65%. New York style, which uses a slower bake at 500–550°F, typically falls in the 60–63% range for a chewier, less wet crust. Detroit style (baked in an oiled steel pan) commonly uses 72–78% hydration, creating the signature airy, focaccia-like crumb. Higher hydration doughs produce a more open internal structure with large irregular air pockets but are stickier to shape and require more skill. Begin at 62% if you are new to dough work.
• How much dough do I need per pizza? ▼
  Dough ball weight determines crust thickness and final pizza size. For a classic Neapolitan pizza (10–12 inches, thin center, puffy cornicione), use 230–280g of dough. For a New York-style 12-inch slice pizza, 280–320g gives the right balance of base thickness and crispness. For a 14-inch New York pie, aim for 380–420g. A Detroit-style pizza in an 8×10-inch pan needs 450–550g of dough to fill the pan and achieve the thick, caramelized-edge crust. Sicilian squares (9×13 pan) typically use 700–800g. If your pizza comes out too thin and tears, increase the ball weight by 20–30g per pizza; if it is too thick and doughy, decrease it accordingly.
• Why reduce yeast for cold fermentation? ▼
  Yeast consumes sugars and produces CO2 and alcohol. At room temperature (70–75°F) fermentation is fast; in the refrigerator (38–40°F) it slows dramatically, allowing the dough to develop deeper flavor through enzymatic activity and slower gluten development. If you use the same amount of yeast for a 72-hour cold ferment that you would for a 4-hour room-temperature rise, the yeast will exhaust all available sugars and over-proof the dough, resulting in a flat, dense, sour crust with poor oven spring. Recommended yeast percentages (by flour weight): 0.4% for a 24-hour cold ferment, 0.3% for 48 hours, and 0.1–0.2% for 72 hours. The calculator adjusts these percentages automatically based on the fermentation time you select.
• Can I use instant yeast instead of active dry? ▼
  Yes — instant yeast (also called rapid-rise or bread machine yeast) is about 25% more potent than active dry yeast because it is more finely ground and has a higher proportion of living cells. The conversion is: instant yeast = active dry yeast × 0.75. Conversely, active dry = instant × 1.33. For example, if a pizza recipe calls for 5g of active dry yeast, use 3.75g of instant. Instant yeast can be added directly to the flour without proofing in water first, making it more convenient. Fresh (cake) yeast is about three times weaker than instant by weight; substitute 3g of fresh yeast for every 1g of instant. Keep yeast refrigerated and check the expiration date — old yeast ferments poorly and produces flat, dense dough.
• What is baker's percentage and how does the calculator use it? ▼
  Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a proportion of the flour weight, with flour always being 100%. This makes recipes easy to scale to any batch size. For example, if flour is 300g and water is 186g, the hydration is 186 ÷ 300 = 62%. Salt at 7.5g is 7.5 ÷ 300 = 2.5%. Yeast at 1.2g is 1.2 ÷ 300 = 0.4%. To scale up: if you want 600g of flour, multiply every ingredient by 2. The calculator works in baker's percentages internally — you enter the number of pizzas and ball weight (which sets the total dough weight), plus your chosen hydration, and the calculator back-solves for flour: flour = total dough ÷ (1 + hydration% + salt% + yeast%). All other ingredients then flow from that flour weight.

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