Pizza Dough Calculator
Pizza dough becomes much easier to adjust when the formula is written in baker’s percentages.
Instead of starting with a fixed recipe, this calculator starts with the amount of dough you need. Choose the number of dough balls, the weight of each ball, your hydration, salt level and yeast percentage, and the tool works backwards to calculate the flour, water, salt and yeast.
Different pizza styles use different dough formulas, so the numbers are intentionally editable rather than presented as one universal “perfect” pizza recipe.
Baker’s Percentages
How to Use the Pizza Dough Calculator
Enter the number of pizzas you want to make and the target weight of each dough ball.
Then choose the hydration, salt percentage and yeast level.
The calculator first works out the total dough weight:
Number of dough balls × weight per ball
It then uses baker’s percentages to divide that total into flour, water, salt and yeast.
Advanced mode lets you include optional oil and sugar for pizza styles that use them.
Baker’s Percentage Explained
Baker’s percentage uses flour as the reference ingredient.
Flour is always:
100%
A dough at:
- 65% hydration
- 2.5% salt
- 0.3% yeast
means that for every 100 g of flour, the formula contains:
- 65 g water
- 2.5 g salt
- 0.3 g yeast equivalent
Those percentages are based on flour weight, not on the final weight of the dough.
Dough-Ball Weight
There is no single correct dough-ball weight.
Traditional Neapolitan pizza uses relatively small balls, while a larger home-oven pizza or a thicker style needs more dough.
Useful reference points include:
- around 200 g for a smaller pizza
- around 250 g for many 12-inch / 30 cm pizzas
- around 280 g for a slightly larger or thicker base
- around 330 g for larger pizzas
Stretching technique and crust thickness affect the finished diameter, so ball weight does not guarantee one exact pizza size.
Pizza Dough Hydration
Hydration means:
Water ÷ flour × 100
For example:
650 g water
1000 g flour
gives:
65% hydration
Around 60–65% is common in many Neapolitan-style and general pizza formulas, while some pan pizzas use considerably more water.
A higher number is not automatically better.
Higher-hydration dough can be softer and stickier and may require different flour, mixing and handling.
Salt
Salt is also expressed as a percentage of flour.
A 2.5% salt formula uses:
25 g salt per 1000 g flour
Many pizza formulas sit somewhere around the mid-two-percent to three-percent range, but the exact amount varies with style and method.
This calculator therefore lets you choose the percentage rather than enforcing one value.
Yeast and Fermentation
Yeast is the least predictable percentage in a pizza formula.
A dough made and baked in a few hours may need very different yeast from a dough fermented overnight or refrigerated for one or more days.
Temperature matters just as much as time.
That is why this calculator asks for the yeast percentage directly instead of pretending that “24 hours” always equals one precise amount.
The default is a starting example, not a fermentation prescription.
If the calculated yeast amount is very small, use a precision scale rather than trying to estimate it with an ordinary kitchen scale.
Yeast Types
The calculator supports:
- instant / fast-action yeast
- active dry yeast
- fresh yeast
Instant and modern active dry yeast are treated as equivalent by weight for this tool.
Fresh yeast is converted from the dry-yeast-equivalent percentage using the same practical conversion used by the site's Yeast Conversion Calculator.
Individual manufacturers can still recommend different substitutions, so packet instructions take priority.
Oil and Sugar
Traditional Neapolitan dough contains neither added oil nor sugar.
Other pizza styles may use one or both.
Advanced mode therefore makes them optional rather than including them automatically.
If you enter 3% oil, for example, the calculator adds oil equal to 3% of the flour weight and still keeps the total dough target correct.
Worked Example — Four 250 g Dough Balls
Target:
- 4 dough balls
- 250 g each
- 65% hydration
- 2.5% salt
- 0.3% instant yeast
Total dough:4 × 250 = 1000 g
Total baker’s factor:1 + 0.65 + 0.025 + 0.003 = 1.678
Flour:1000 ÷ 1.678 ≈ 595.95 g
Water:595.95 × 0.65 ≈ 387.37 g
Salt:595.95 × 0.025 ≈ 14.90 g
Yeast:595.95 × 0.003 ≈ 1.79 g
Practical result:
- Flour: about 596 g
- Water: about 387 g
- Salt: about 14.9 g
- Instant yeast: about 1.8 g
- Total target dough: 1000 g
Why Pizza Formulas Vary
A formula that works beautifully in a very hot pizza oven may not behave the same way in a conventional home oven.
Flour strength, hydration, oven temperature, fermentation schedule and pizza style all interact.
Neapolitan-style, New York-style and pan pizzas are different products, not one dough with different toppings.
Use the calculator to formulate the quantities you want, then follow a reliable method suited to your flour, oven and fermentation plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What weight should a pizza dough ball be?
It depends on pizza size and thickness. Around 250 g is widely used for a roughly 12-inch / 30 cm pizza, while traditional Neapolitan portions commonly fall around 200–280 g. Larger pizzas may use 300 g or more.
What hydration is good for pizza dough?
There is no universal ideal. Around 60–65% is common in many Neapolitan-style formulas, while pan styles may use 70% or more. Flour and baking method matter.
How do I calculate baker’s percentages?
Treat flour as 100%. Divide each other ingredient's weight by the flour weight and multiply by 100.
Does cold fermentation need less yeast?
Often it does, but there is no reliable single conversion based on time alone. Temperature, yeast type and dough conditions also matter. This calculator therefore lets you set the yeast percentage directly.
How much salt should pizza dough contain?
Many pizza formulas fall around 2.5–3% of flour weight. The calculator defaults to 2.5% but lets you change it.
Can I add oil or sugar?
Yes. Advanced mode lets you add either as a baker’s percentage. They are optional because many pizza styles, including traditional Neapolitan dough, do not use them.
Why is my dough wetter than expected?
Hydration is only one factor. Flour absorption, protein level, mixing method and temperature can all change how wet a dough feels.