Pizza Dough Calculator
Start from a style preset or dial in your own baker's percentages. Switch input mode between dough balls (e.g. 4 × 250 g pizza balls) and total flour.
Batch size
Baker's percentages (flour = 100%)
Leavening
Typical: 0.1–0.5% IDY for cold-fermented pizza · 0.5–1% for same-day bread. Sourdough mode uses levain instead.
Preferment (optional)
How baker's percentages work
Every ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight, which is always 100%. If your recipe uses 1000 g of flour at 62% hydration, you need 620 g of water. Salt at 2.5% means 25 g. This system scales any dough recipe up or down perfectly — it is the shared language of professional bakers.
True hydration counts all water (including water inside your starter or preferment) divided by all flour (including preferment flour). Many online recipes understate hydration because they ignore starter water — this calculator always reports true hydration so you can compare recipes honestly. Use the ranges below as your pizza dough calculator hydration starting point, then adjust by feel.
| Style | Typical hydration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan pizza | 58–65% | 00 flour, wood-fired heat |
| New York pizza | 58–62% | Bread flour, oil + sugar for browning |
| Detroit / Sicilian | 65–72% | Pan pizza, open crumb |
| Country sourdough | 70–78% | True hydration incl. starter |
| Ciabatta | 78–85% | Very wet, minimal handling |
| Baguette | 64–68% | Lean dough, poolish common |
Preferment guide: levain, poolish & biga
A preferment is a portion of the flour and water (plus yeast or starter) mixed ahead of time. It builds flavor, extends shelf life, and improves crumb structure.
- Levain — built from sourdough starter; typically 15–25% of total flour at 100% hydration. Ripe when doubled and domed.
- Poolish — equal weights flour and water (100% hydration) with a pinch of yeast, fermented 12–16 hours. Adds extensibility and mild flavor.
- Biga — stiff preferment at 50–60% hydration, fermented 12–24 hours. Adds strength and complex flavor; great for focaccia and ciabatta.
The calculator splits your flour and water correctly: preferment flour counts toward the 100%, and added water is reduced by the water already in the preferment, so your target hydration stays exact.
Sourdough aliquot method calculator
The aliquot method tracks bulk fermentation with a small dough sample in a straight-sided jar. When the sample rises by your target percentage, bulk is done — no guesswork, no over-proofing.
Assumes dough density ≈ 1.05 g/ml. Mark the start height with a rubber band, then mark the target. Common targets: 25–50% for warm kitchens, 50–75% for cool bulk ferments.
Sourdough starter feeding calculator
Keep a small amount of starter and feed it at your chosen ratio. A 1:5:5 feeding (starter:flour:water) peaks slower and tastes milder than 1:1:1.
Yeast conversion chart
Convert between yeast types: fresh yeast = 3 × IDY, active dry = 1.25 × IDY by weight.
| Instant dry (IDY) | Active dry (ADY) | Fresh / cake | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 g | 1.25 g | 3 g | — |
| 2 g | 2.5 g | 6 g | ~1 kg flour, cold-ferment pizza |
| 3 g | 3.75 g | 9 g | ~1 kg flour, 48h pizza |
| 7 g (1 packet) | 8.75 g | 21 g | Standard yeast packet ≈ 2¼ tsp IDY |
Cups to grams for dough ingredients
Cups are volume; dough math needs weight. These are the densities this site uses (USDA-based):
| Ingredient | 1 cup = |
|---|---|
| Bread flour | 120 g |
| All-purpose flour | 120 g |
| Whole wheat flour | 113 g |
| Water | 236 g |
| Sugar | 200 g |
| Salt (fine) | 273 g |
| Olive oil | 216 g |
| Honey | 340 g |
Tip: a kitchen scale beats cups for dough — flour can vary ±20% by cup depending on scooping.
Frequently asked questions
What is baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the total flour weight, which is always 100%. Water at 65% means 65 g of water per 100 g of flour. It makes recipes trivially scalable: multiply each percentage by your flour weight to get grams.
How do I calculate pizza dough hydration?
Divide total water weight by total flour weight and multiply by 100. For sourdough pizza, include the water inside your starter: a 100 g starter at 100% hydration adds 50 g water and 50 g flour. This calculator reports true hydration automatically.
What hydration should Neapolitan pizza dough be?
Classic Neapolitan dough runs 58–65% hydration with "00" flour, around 2.5–3% salt, and very little yeast (often under 0.1% instant dry) for a 24–48 hour ferment. The preset above uses 62% as a reliable middle ground for home ovens.
How much levain (sourdough starter) should I use in bread?
Most country-style sourdoughs use levain at 15–25% of total flour weight (e.g. 100–200 g levain per 1000 g flour). More levain ferments faster and tastes milder; less levain gives a longer, more sour ferment. The calculator defaults to 20%.
What is true hydration in sourdough?
True hydration = (all water, including starter water) ÷ (all flour, including starter flour) × 100. Example: 500 g flour + 350 g water + 100 g starter at 100% hydration → 400 g water ÷ 550 g flour = 72.7% true hydration, even though the added water alone looks like 70%.
What is the difference between poolish and biga?
Poolish is a wet preferment (100% hydration, equal flour and water) fermented 12–16 hours for extensibility and mild flavor. Biga is stiff (50–60% hydration) fermented 12–24 hours for dough strength and deeper flavor. Both typically use 20–30% of the total flour.
What is the aliquot method for sourdough?
Put a small dough sample (e.g. 40 g) in a straight-sided jar at the start of bulk fermentation. When the sample rises by your target (often 25–75% depending on dough temperature), bulk is done. It removes the guesswork from judging fermentation by the whole bowl.
How do I convert cups to grams for pizza dough?
Use ingredient densities: 1 cup of bread flour ≈ 120 g, 1 cup of water ≈ 236 g. So 4 cups of flour ≈ 480 g. A scale is strongly recommended — scooped flour can vary by ±20% per cup, which wrecks hydration math.
How much salt goes in pizza dough?
The standard range is 2–3% of flour weight (20–30 g per 1000 g flour), with 2.5% the most common for Neapolitan and New York styles. Below 1.5% tastes bland; above 3% can noticeably slow fermentation.
How do I convert between fresh, active dry, and instant yeast?
By weight: fresh (cake) yeast = 3 × instant dry yeast; active dry yeast = 1.25 × instant dry yeast. So 3 g of IDY ≈ 9 g fresh ≈ 3.75 g ADY. Active dry should be dissolved in warm water first; instant can go straight into the flour.
Can I use this dough calculator for bread, not just pizza?
Yes — it covers pizza, sourdough, and yeasted breads (baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia, sandwich loaves). The math is identical; only the typical percentages and preferments change, which the style presets handle.
What does prefermented flour % mean?
It is the share of the recipe's total flour that goes into the preferment (levain, poolish, or biga) instead of the final mix. 20% prefermented flour on 1000 g total flour means 200 g flour + its water are fermented ahead, and 800 g flour is mixed later.
How do I scale a dough recipe up or down?
With baker's percentages: decide your new flour weight, then multiply every percentage by it. Doubling 1000 g flour at 62% hydration → 2000 g flour needs 1240 g water. Or use ball mode: set your ball count and weight and the calculator derives the flour.
What hydration is best for Detroit-style pizza?
Detroit and Sicilian pan pizzas typically run 65–72% hydration — wetter than Neapolitan — plus a few percent oil for a fried, crispy cheese edge. The preset uses 70% with 4% oil.
Do I need more water for whole wheat flour?
Yes — whole wheat absorbs more water than white flour. As a rule of thumb, add about 5% extra hydration for every 25% of the flour that is whole wheat, then adjust by feel. Bran also cuts gluten, so expect a slightly denser crumb.
Is my recipe data private?
Yes. This tool runs 100% in your browser — every calculation happens locally on your device. Nothing you type is sent to any server, stored, or tracked.