Pizza Dough Calculator

How baker's percentages work for pizza dough

In baker's math, every ingredient is expressed relative to the total flour weight, which is set at 100%. Hydration of 65% means 650 g of water per 1000 g of flour. This system makes it easy to scale recipes, compare doughs, and reproduce results consistently across different batch sizes.

To find the flour weight from a target total dough weight, divide the total dough by the sum of all percentages expressed as decimals. For example, with 65% hydration, 2.5% salt, 2% oil, and 0.3% yeast: total factor = 1 + 0.65 + 0.025 + 0.02 + 0.003 = 1.698; flour = total dough ÷ 1.698.

Hydration, style, and baking temperature

Pizza dough hydration determines texture, workability, and final crust character. Neapolitan-style dough is typically 60–65% hydration — tight, smooth, and easy to hand-stretch. New York-style runs 58–65%. Roman al taglio and pan pizzas use higher hydrations of 70–80%, producing an open, airy crumb. Very high-hydration doughs (80%+) require advanced folding and shaping techniques.

Salt at 2–3% of flour weight improves flavour and gluten structure. Oil at 2–3% tenderises the crust and aids browning. Yeast percentage depends on fermentation time: 0.2–0.3% for a 24-hour cold ferment; up to 1% for a quick 2-hour room-temperature rise. Fresh yeast quantities should be roughly 3× the dry instant yeast weight.

Baking temperature matters enormously: a proper Neapolitan pizza is baked at 430–480 °C (800–900 °F) for 60–90 seconds in a wood-fired oven. Home ovens at 250 °C (480 °F) with a preheated steel or stone produce excellent results in 5–8 minutes.