Pizza Dough Calculator
Work backwards from how many pizzas you want and how big each ball should be to the exact flour, water, salt and yeast.
What you need
607g
Flour
- Water
- 376 g
- Salt
- 15 g
- Instant yeast
- 2 g
- Total dough
- 1,000 g
Divide into equal balls by weight, not by eye.
Guide figures. Ingredient weights, pan sizes and cooking times all vary — see the assumptions below for the ones used.
Shop this project
The dough is cheap. Getting it out of a domestic oven well is what needs equipment. Quantities come straight from your calculation above — check them against your supplier's pack sizes before ordering.
Your shopping list
- Bread flour
- 607 g
- Instant yeast
- 2 g
Materials
Bread flour
Higher protein absorbs more water, so the same hydration percentage feels stiffer than with all-purpose.
Instant yeast
Keeps for years in the freezer, which is cheaper than buying packets.
Prep & extras
Dough proofing containers
One ball per container, so a cold rise does not fuse them together.
Tools & equipment
Digital kitchen scale
Weighing removes the cup-packing variable entirely, which is the single biggest accuracy win in baking.
Pizza steel
Stores and releases heat far faster than stone, which is how a domestic oven gets close to a pizza oven base.
Pizza peel
Launching a stretched base off a plate does not work. This is not optional equipment.
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How to use the pizza dough calculator
Pizza dough is specified by the weight of one ball, because that is what determines the size and thickness of the finished pizza. A 250 g ball makes a 12 inch Neapolitan; 280 to 300 g makes a 14 inch New York slice. Say how many you want and this works back to the ingredients.
Working backwards from the ball
Most recipes start from flour and tell you what you get. That is the wrong direction for pizza, because what you actually know is how many people are eating and how big your oven or peel is. Starting from ball weight and count means you end up with exactly the dough you need.
The arithmetic is a single division. Total dough is the flour plus a fixed set of percentages of that flour, so dividing the total by the summed ratio recovers the flour weight — and every other ingredient follows from it.
Cold fermentation and yeast
The single biggest improvement available to home pizza is time. A dough left in the fridge for 24 to 72 hours develops flavour that no same-day dough reaches, and it becomes easier to stretch as the gluten relaxes.
The trade-off is yeast quantity, not technique. A dough meant to sit for two days needs far less yeast than one rising in two hours, or it will over-ferment and collapse in the fridge. Around 0.3% instant yeast is a reasonable starting point for an overnight or longer rise.
What this calculator assumes
Every estimate depends on figures that vary by supplier and conditions. These are the ones used here, so you can sanity-check the result against your own quote.
- Percentages are baker's percentages against flour weight, so the ingredients sum to more than 100% by design.
- Ball weight, not total flour, is the number that controls the finished pizza. A 250 g ball at 12 inches gives the thin centre and puffed rim of a Neapolitan; the same ball stretched to 14 inches will be thin and cracker-like.
- Yeast percentages assume instant yeast. Active dry needs about 25% more by weight, and fresh yeast about three times as much — the yeast converter handles that.
- No allowance is made for dough lost to the bowl and bench. If you want four exact balls, consider adding 2 to 3% to the total.
- Semolina or flour for dusting is not included, and neither is sauce, cheese or toppings.
- Long cold fermentation changes the yeast requirement, not the flour and water. A 48 hour fridge rise wants roughly a third of the yeast of a two hour room-temperature one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a pizza dough ball weigh?
Around 250 g for a 12 inch Neapolitan, 280 to 300 g for a 14 inch New York style, and 200 g for a 10 inch personal pizza. Neapolitan tradition puts it between 200 and 280 g. Weigh the balls rather than dividing by eye — an uneven split is obvious in the finished pizzas.
How much flour do I need for 4 pizzas?
For four 250 g balls at 62% hydration with salt and yeast, about 605 g of flour and 375 g of water. The flour is always less than the dough weight divided by the number of balls, because the water is a large part of what you are weighing.
What hydration should pizza dough be?
58 to 62% is the easiest range to handle by hand and suits a domestic oven. Neapolitan dough for a very hot wood oven runs 60 to 65%. Above about 70% the dough becomes slack and hard to stretch without tearing, and needs a pizza steel or stone to set fast enough.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of 00?
Yes. 00 flour is milled finer and is designed for the 900 °F floor of a wood-fired oven, where it browns fast without burning. In a domestic oven at 500 °F, bread flour actually performs better than 00, and all-purpose is perfectly serviceable. The grind matters far less than the oven temperature.
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