Perfect Pizza Dough
Create perfect pizza dough every time with our professional calculator trusted by pizzerias and home bakers. Whether you're making 2 personal pizzas or 20 for a party, precise dough ratios are critical for texture, rise, and flavor.
**The Pizza Dough Challenge**
Pizza dough is unforgiving. Too much water makes it sticky and impossible to stretch. Too little makes it tough and dense. Yeast amount affects rise time and flavor development. Salt percentage impacts gluten strength. Professional pizzerias use baker's percentages (all ingredients as ratios of flour weight) for consistency—but home recipes rarely teach this.
**Our Baker's Percentage Calculator**
Our calculator works like professional bakeries: enter your flour amount (the base), and we calculate everything else maintaining proper ratios. Want to use a full 1kg flour bag? Enter it, and get: 650ml water (65% hydration), 20g salt (2%), 7g yeast (0.7%), 30ml olive oil (3%). These percentages create the classic Neapolitan dough structure.
**Beyond Basic Scaling**
Choose your pizza style, and our calculator adjusts hydration and ingredient ratios: Neapolitan (65-70% hydration) creates chewy, airy crust perfect for high-heat ovens. New York style (58-62% hydration) makes foldable, crispy slices. Sicilian (55-58% hydration) produces thick, focaccia-like bases. Each style also includes appropriate fermentation times—Neapolitan dough needs 24h cold proof, NY style works with 8-12h.
**Reverse Calculation for Real Baking**
Professional bakers buy flour in bulk and calculate portions from inventory. Our reverse calculator lets you work the same way: have 800g flour? Enter it, see you can make 5-6 pizzas, with exact amounts for water (520ml), yeast (5.6g), salt (16g). No waste, perfect planning. This is especially valuable for pizza parties where you're using multiple flour bags.
Crust Style
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Ingredients
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Ingredients
- Bread flour500 g
- Warm water325 ml
- Active dry yeast7 g
- Olive oil30 ml
- Salt10 g
- Sugar5 g
Substitution Options:
Instructions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
💡 Water should be 105-110°F
💡 If no foam, yeast is dead
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in center.
💡 Mix salt and flour first to prevent direct yeast contact
Add yeast mixture and oil to flour. Mix until shaggy dough forms.
💡 Dough will be sticky at first
💡 Use wooden spoon or dough whisk
Turn onto floured surface and knead 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
💡 Window pane test: stretch small piece thin
💡 Add flour sparingly if too sticky
Place in oiled bowl, cover, and rise in warm place until doubled.
💡 Rising time varies with temperature
💡 Finger poke test: indent should remain
Punch down, divide as needed, and let rest 10 minutes before shaping.
💡 Resting relaxes gluten for easier shaping
💡 Keep covered to prevent drying
Expert Tips
Cold Fermentation
For best flavor, refrigerate dough 24-72 hours. Brings complex flavors and better texture.
Shaping Techniques
For thin crust: stretch from center outward, leaving thicker edge. For thick: press into oiled pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I scale pizza dough from 4 to 12 servings?
A: Enter "12" in Target Servings for 3x scaling (12÷4). For Neapolitan style, you'll need: 1500g flour (500g×3), 975ml water (325ml×3), 30g yeast (10g×3), 30g salt (10g×3), 90ml olive oil (30ml×3). This makes 12 personal pizzas or 6 large pizzas. Bulk fermentation time stays same (24h cold), but divide dough into 12 portions instead of 4.
Q: Can I calculate from flour weight instead of servings?
A: Yes—this is how professionals work! Click calculator icon next to "Bread flour", enter your amount (e.g., 1000g). For Neapolitan: you'll need 650ml water (65% hydration), 20g salt (2%), 7g instant yeast (0.7%), 30ml oil. This makes about 8 personal pizzas (125g dough each). Perfect for using full flour bags without waste.
Q: What's the difference between Neapolitan and NY style calculations?
A: Hydration percentage: Neapolitan uses 65-70% water-to-flour ratio (e.g., 650ml per 1kg flour) creating soft, airy dough for 800°F+ ovens. NY style uses 58-62% (580-620ml per 1kg) making firmer dough that crisps at lower temps (550°F). Our calculator adjusts water, oil, and fermentation time automatically when you select pizza style.
Q: How does the calculator handle different flour types?
A: Bread flour (12-14% protein) is base: 500g flour needs 325ml water at 65% hydration. If using all-purpose flour (10-12% protein), reduce water to 60% hydration (300ml per 500g flour) because lower protein absorbs less liquid. Our calculator includes flour type selector that auto-adjusts hydration percentage.
Q: Does fermentation time change when I scale the recipe?
A: Bulk fermentation time stays constant (24h cold proof for Neapolitan regardless of batch size) because it's about dough development, not quantity. However, larger batches may need bigger containers. Divide into portions AFTER bulk fermentation: 4 servings = 4 dough balls, 12 servings = 12 balls. Each ball still gets final 2h room-temp proof.
Q: Can I adjust hydration percentage for different ovens?
A: Yes! Higher hydration (70%+) needs high heat (800°F+ wood-fired) to set structure. Home ovens (max 550°F) work better with 62-65% hydration. Our calculator recommends hydration based on selected pizza style, but you can manually adjust. For example: Ooni oven (900°F) = 68% Neapolitan, home oven (500°F) = 62% NY style.
Q: How many pizzas can I make with 1kg flour?
A: Depends on pizza size: Personal pizzas (8-10 inch) use 125-150g dough each = 6-8 pizzas from 1kg flour. Large pizzas (12-14 inch) use 250-300g dough each = 3-4 pizzas. Our calculator shows serving count AND suggests dough ball weights. For parties, we recommend 1.5 personal pizzas per guest (180-200g dough per person).
Q: Why use baker's percentages instead of cups?
A: Baker's percentages (all ingredients as % of flour weight) scale perfectly and handle flour density variations. Example: 500g flour always needs 325ml water at 65% hydration, regardless of cup volume changes due to sifting or packing. Professionals worldwide use this system. Our calculator shows both grams AND cups for convenience, but calculations use weight for accuracy.
Nutrition Information
Per 1/8 of pizza
Plain dough only
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