Pizza Dough Calculator
Work out exactly how much flour, water, salt, yeast and oil to mix for any number of pizzas.
How to use the Pizza Dough Calculator
- Enter the number of pizzas.
- Enter the dough ball weight and pick its unit – About 250–280 g for a 12-inch (30 cm) Neapolitan pizza.
- Enter the hydration (water).
- Enter the salt.
- Enter the yeast (instant dry) – Use about 3× this for fresh yeast, 1.25× for active dry.
- Enter the oil.
- Enter the sugar.
- Enter the extra for dough loss.
- Press Calculate. The result updates automatically as you type.
About the Pizza Dough Calculator
Pizza makers plan dough by weight and baker's percentage because it scales perfectly from one pizza to fifty. Hydration controls the texture: 58–62% makes a firm New York style dough that is easy to stretch, 60–65% suits classic Neapolitan pizza in a very hot oven, and 70% or more gives an open, airy crumb for pan and Roman-style pizza.
Salt is usually 2.5–3%. Yeast depends on time and temperature: around 0.3–0.5% instant yeast for a 24-hour cold ferment, or 1–1.5% for dough used the same day. Oil and sugar help browning in home ovens below 550°F (290°C) but are often left out of wood-fired Neapolitan dough.
Formula
In baker's percentages, every ingredient is a percentage of the flour weight, and flour is 100%:
total dough = pizzas × ball weight × (1 + loss %)
flour = total dough ÷ (1 + (water% + salt% + yeast% + oil% + sugar%) ÷ 100)
ingredient = flour × ingredient% ÷ 100
Example calculation
Using the default values:
- Number of pizzas = 4
- Dough ball weight = 260 g
- Hydration (water) = 63%
- Salt = 2.8%
- Yeast (instant dry) = 0.4%
- Oil = 2%
- Sugar = 0%
- Extra for dough loss = 2%
the calculator returns:
- Flour: 631 g
- Water: 397 g
- Salt: 17.7 g
- Yeast: 2.5 g
- Oil: 12.6 g
- Total dough: 1,061 g
Frequently asked questions
How much dough do I need for a 12-inch pizza?
About 250–280 g (9–10 oz) for a thin Neapolitan crust, or 300–350 g (11–12 oz) for a New York style pie.
What is 63% hydration?
It means the water weighs 63% of the flour. With 1,000 g of flour you would use 630 g of water.
Can I use active dry or fresh yeast?
Yes. Use about 1.25 times the instant yeast amount for active dry yeast and about 3 times for fresh (cake) yeast.
Why add extra for dough loss?
Some dough sticks to the bowl, hands and bench. A 1–3% allowance keeps every ball at the target weight.
Last updated: · Category: Cooking calculators