UtilibyWritten by the Utiliby editorial team · Last updated October 13, 2026 · Rules and formulas reviewed October 2026
What this free pizza dough calculator does
This free online pizza dough calculator works out exactly how much flour, water, salt, oil, sugar and yeast you need for the pizzas you want to make. Choose a style such as New York, Neapolitan, thin crust, Detroit, Chicago deep dish, Sicilian or Roman, enter the size of the pizza or the weight of each dough ball, and the number of pizzas. The recipe appears in grams, ounces and cups, with baker's percentages for every ingredient.
It goes further than a simple ratio table. It sizes the yeast to your fermentation plan (same day, 24, 48 or 72 hours cold), suggests a water temperature for your room and mixer, supports poolish, biga and sourdough, and builds a schedule that works back from the time you want to eat. Everything runs in your browser, with no account, no ads inside the tool and no data leaving your device.
How to use the pizza dough calculator
- Pick a style. This loads a typical hydration, salt, oil, sugar, pizza size and fermentation plan. You can change any value afterwards.
- Set the size. Choose a pizza diameter (or pan length and width), or switch to dough ball weight if your recipe gives grams per ball. Enter how many pizzas you want.
- Adjust the formula. Change hydration, salt, oil and sugar, add a poolish, biga or sourdough levain, and choose the yeast type you have.
- Plan the fermentation. On the Schedule tab pick a same-day, 24, 48 or 72 hour plan, or enter your own hours and your room temperature. The yeast percentage is recalculated for you.
- Set the eating time to see exactly when to mix, ball, refrigerate, warm up and preheat.
- Print, download or copy. The export contains just the active tab.
Baker's percentages explained
Bakers express every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, which is always 100%. A pizza dough with 500 g of flour, 315 g of water, 10 g of salt and 1.25 g of yeast is 100% flour, 63% water (hydration), 2% salt and 0.25% yeast. This makes recipes easy to scale, compare and fix: to make a dough wetter, raise the water percentage; to make it saltier, raise the salt percentage.
To find the flour weight from a total dough weight, divide by one plus the sum of the other percentages. For two 370 g dough balls with 63% water, 2% salt, 2% oil, 1.5% sugar and 0.2% yeast, the total is 740 g, the sum of the percentages is 68.7%, so flour is 740 ÷ 1.687 = about 439 g. The calculator does this for you and rounds sensibly.
Pizza dough formulas by style
| Style | Hydration | Salt | Oil | Sugar | Typical bake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 63% | 2% | 2% | 1.5% | 500 to 550°F, 7 to 10 min |
| Neapolitan | 62% | 2.8% | 0 | 0 | Max home oven 6 to 8 min |
| Thin crust | 55% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 475 to 500°F, 8 to 12 min |
| Home oven all-purpose | 65% | 2.2% | 2% | 1% | 500°F, 8 to 10 min |
| Pan pizza | 62% | 2% | 4% | 1.5% | 450°F, 15 to 20 min |
| Detroit | 72% | 2% | 2% | 0 | 500°F, 12 to 15 min |
| Chicago deep dish | 58% | 2% | 8% | 1% | 425°F, 30 to 40 min |
| Sicilian / grandma | 70% | 2.2% | 3% | 0 | 450°F, 18 to 25 min |
| Roman al taglio | 80% | 2.2% | 3% | 0 | 475°F, 15 to 20 min |
These are typical starting formulas, not rules. Every pizzeria and home baker adjusts them for their flour, oven and taste.
How much dough for each pizza size
The amount of dough depends on the diameter and the thickness you want. The calculator uses an average of grams of dough per square inch for each style: about 1.6 g for thin crust, 2.2 g for Neapolitan, 2.4 g for New York, 2.8 to 3 g for thick pan styles and 6 g for deep dish.
| Pizza | Area (sq in) | Thin (1.6 g) | Medium (2.4 g) | Thick (3.5 g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 inch round | 79 | 126 g | 189 g | 275 g |
| 12 inch round | 113 | 181 g | 271 g | 396 g |
| 14 inch round | 154 | 246 g | 369 g | 539 g |
| 16 inch round | 201 | 322 g | 482 g | 704 g |
| 13 × 18 inch sheet pan | 234 | 374 g | 562 g | 819 g |
If you already know your favourite ball weight, switch to Dough ball weight and enter it directly. A common rule is that a pizza stretches to about the same diameter whichever style you use, but the thickness changes, so heavier balls give thicker crusts, not bigger pizzas.
Choosing hydration: dry, medium and wet dough
- 55 to 60% (low): stiff, easy to roll, crisp thin crust, good for beginners and for ovens that are not very hot.
- 60 to 65% (medium): the sweet spot for most home pizza: manageable and soft with a good rise.
- 65 to 72% (high): open crumb, bigger bubbles and a lighter bite. Needs good handling and a hot oven.
- 72 to 80%+ (very high): Detroit and Roman styles. Sticky, so mix with wet hands, use stretch-and-folds and bake in an oiled pan.
Flour matters here. Strong bread flour with 12 to 14% protein absorbs more water than all-purpose flour, so a recipe that works at 68% with bread flour may be too wet at the same figure with all-purpose flour. Whole wheat absorbs more again. If a dough is slack, hold back 3 to 5% of the water and add it when the dough feels right.
How much yeast for pizza dough
The yeast amount for pizza dough is a trade-off between speed and flavour. More yeast means a faster rise; less yeast with a longer, colder ferment means more flavour. The calculator uses a simple planning model: yeast % ≈ 2 ÷ effective hours of rise at 68°F (20°C). Warmth makes the yeast work faster (roughly doubling every 15°F / 8°C), and a refrigerator at 38°F slows it to about a quarter of that rate.
| Plan | Instant yeast (% of flour) | Per 500 g flour |
|---|---|---|
| Same day, about 4 hours warm | about 0.4% | about 2 g (⅔ tsp) |
| 24 hour cold ferment | about 0.2% | about 1 g (⅓ tsp) |
| 48 hour cold ferment | about 0.12% | about 0.6 g (a scant ¼ tsp) |
| 72 hour cold ferment | about 0.1% | about 0.5 g (a generous pinch) |
The figures are rounded and shift with your room temperature. Active dry yeast needs about 25% more, and fresh yeast about three times as much, by weight. For tiny amounts a scale that reads to 0.1 g is a good investment. The related yeast conversion calculator converts packets, teaspoons and cakes.
Cold fermentation, room-temperature rise and timing
A same-day dough is mixed, risen for a few hours and baked. It is quick and tasty, but a little plain. A cold ferment keeps the dough in the refrigerator for one to three days. Enzymes break starch into sugars (which brown the crust), the dough relaxes and becomes easier to stretch, and flavour deepens. Most pizzerias use 24 to 72 hours.
The Schedule tab splits the day into three parts: a room rise before the fridge (usually 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough has started to puff), the cold ferment, and a warm-up after (1 to 2 hours, until the balls are soft and relaxed). Take the dough out of the fridge well before baking: cold dough tears when stretched and bakes into a dense crust.
Poolish, biga and sourdough pizza dough
- Poolish: equal weights of flour and water (100% hydration) with a pinch of yeast, rested 12 to 16 hours at about 65°F until bubbly. It gives an open, nutty, slightly sweet dough. This tool uses 20% of the total flour.
- Biga: a stiffer Italian pre-ferment at about 50% hydration. It gives a chewier, more aromatic dough. This tool uses 30% of the flour.
- Sourdough levain: a ripe starter at about 20% of the flour weight replaces commercial yeast. Expect a tangier flavour and a longer rise.
With a poolish or biga, the tool shows two steps: what to mix the night before and what to add to make the final dough, so the total flour and water still match the baker's percentages.
Water temperature and dough temperature
A dough that is too warm ferments too fast and gets sticky; one that is too cold is slow. Professional bakers aim for a desired dough temperature (DDT) of about 73 to 77°F (23 to 25°C) and use the three-factor formula: water temperature = 3 × DDT − flour temperature − room temperature − friction factor. Friction from kneading adds heat: about 4°F by hand, 14°F in a stand mixer and 24°F in a spiral mixer. The tool uses your room temperature for the flour too, and caps the answer between 40 and 110°F.
If your answer is very low (below about 50°F / 10°C), use cold water from the fridge. If it is above 105°F, use warm tap water and mix gently, because very hot water can damage yeast.
Step-by-step method for a great pizza
- Mix. Dissolve the yeast in the water (active dry and fresh) or mix instant yeast into the flour. Add the flour, then the salt, and mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 20 minutes.
- Knead. Knead 8 to 10 minutes by hand or 5 to 6 minutes in a mixer, or use a few sets of stretch-and-folds for wet doughs, until smooth and elastic. Add oil toward the end.
- First rise. Cover and rest at room temperature as planned.
- Ball. Divide, shape into tight balls and place in oiled, lidded containers.
- Ferment. Refrigerate for the cold ferment, then warm up.
- Preheat. Heat the oven with a stone or steel for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Stretch. Press from the centre out with your fingertips, leaving the rim. Avoid a rolling pin, which crushes the bubbles in all but thin styles.
- Top lightly and bake until the crust is deeply golden and the cheese is bubbling.
Baking pizza in a home oven
Most home ovens top out at 500 to 550°F (260 to 290°C), far below a pizzeria's 800°F or more. To compensate, bake on a preheated pizza steel (best heat transfer) or stone placed on the upper-middle rack, preheat for a full hour, and keep toppings light so the pizza cooks quickly. Finish under the broiler for a minute if the top is pale. A baking sheet turned upside down also works. For pan styles, use a dark metal pan and oil it well to fry the base.
Troubleshooting pizza dough
- Dough is sticky: hydration is high for your flour. Use a little oil on your hands, not extra flour, or reduce the water by 3 to 5% next time.
- Dough tears when stretching: it is cold or tight. Let it warm up for another 30 to 60 minutes and rest it again after each pull.
- Crust is pale: the oven is not hot enough, the dough has little residual sugar after a short ferment, or it was too thick. Add 1% sugar, preheat longer and bake on the upper rack.
- Crust is dense: the dough under-proofed, was handled roughly or has too little water.
- Dough over-proofed: too much yeast or too warm. It looks slack, smells strongly of alcohol and bakes flat. Use less yeast or a cooler dough next time.
- Tough, cracker-like crust: hydration is too low or the dough was overworked.
Choosing the right flour
| Flour | Protein | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Italian 00 | 11 to 13% | Neapolitan and very hot ovens |
| Bread flour | 12 to 14% | New York, pan, Sicilian, Detroit, Chicago |
| All-purpose | 10 to 12% | Thin crust and everyday home-oven pizza |
| Whole wheat | 13 to 14% | Mixed 20 to 30% with white flour for flavour |
Flour brands differ, and the number on the bag is only a guide. If you can, weigh the flour rather than measuring cups, which can vary by 20% or more. A cup of flour is about 125 g in this tool.
Storing, freezing and reusing pizza dough
Fresh dough balls keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, getting more flavourful and a little harder to stretch. For longer storage freeze them after the first rise: oil lightly, wrap or bag them and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and warm for an hour or two. Baked pizza keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and reheats best in a hot skillet or oven, not a microwave.
Privacy
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. The values you enter are not sent to a server or stored, and reloading the page restores the example. Downloaded files are created on your device.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate pizza dough for any size?
Pick the pizza size and style, and the calculator multiplies the pizza's area by a typical amount of dough per square inch to get the dough ball weight. For example, a 14 inch New York pizza is about 154 square inches, and at 2.4 g per square inch needs a dough ball of roughly 370 g. Then flour, water, salt, oil and yeast are worked out from baker's percentages.
How much dough do I need for a 12 inch, 14 inch or 16 inch pizza?
As a starting point: about 250 to 260 g for a 12 inch Neapolitan, about 260 g for a 12 inch home-oven pizza, about 370 g for a 14 inch New York style and about 480 g for a 16 inch New York style. Thicker styles need more dough per square inch.
What is pizza dough hydration?
Hydration is the weight of water divided by the weight of flour, as a percentage. A 63% hydration dough has 63 g of water for every 100 g of flour. Lower hydration (55 to 60%) is easier to handle and gives a crisp crust; higher hydration (68 to 80%) gives an open, airy crumb but is stickier.
What is a good hydration for beginners?
Start at 60 to 65%. It is easy to knead and stretch, and still gives a good rise. Move up to 70% or more once you are comfortable with wet doughs.
How much yeast do I need for pizza dough?
It depends on how long the dough ferments. A same-day dough might use 0.4 to 0.5% instant yeast (about 2 g for 500 g of flour), a 24 hour cold ferment about 0.2%, and 72 hours only about 0.1%. The Schedule tab sizes the yeast for your plan and room temperature.
What is the difference between instant, active dry and fresh yeast in pizza dough?
Use 1 part instant yeast, about 1.25 parts active dry yeast or about 3 parts fresh yeast. Instant goes straight into the flour, active dry is best dissolved in warm water first, and fresh is crumbled into the water. The tool shows all three.
Does cold fermentation make better pizza dough?
Most pizza makers think so. A day or more in the refrigerator slows the yeast and lets enzymes and bacteria develop flavour and help the crust brown. The dough also becomes more extensible, so it stretches more easily. Cold fermented dough needs less yeast.
How long should pizza dough rise?
Anywhere from about 4 hours at room temperature to 72 hours in the refrigerator, depending on the yeast. The dough is ready when it has roughly doubled, feels airy and springs back slowly when poked. Use the schedule tab to plan the day.
What is the best flour for pizza dough?
Bread flour (12 to 14% protein) is the usual choice for New York style and pan pizza because it gives a chewy bite. Italian 00 flour is traditional for Neapolitan pizza and suits very hot ovens. All-purpose flour works well for a softer crust, especially in thin styles.
How much salt should pizza dough have?
Usually 2 to 3% of the flour weight. Two percent is a good everyday amount; Neapolitan recipes often use 2.5 to 3%. Salt adds flavour and strengthens the gluten, and too much slows the yeast.
Do I need oil and sugar in pizza dough?
No. Traditional Neapolitan dough has just flour, water, salt and yeast. Oil (2 to 4%) makes the crumb softer and the crust more tender; sugar (1 to 2%) helps browning in cooler home ovens. Pan and deep dish styles use more oil.
What is a poolish or biga, and should I use one?
Both are pre-ferments mixed from some of the flour, water and a tiny amount of yeast the day before. A poolish is wet (100% hydration) and gives an open crumb and nutty flavour; a biga is stiffer (about 50%) and gives chew. They improve flavour and keep dough fresher, but they are optional.
Can I make pizza dough with sourdough starter?
Yes. Use a ripe starter at about 20% of the flour weight and no commercial yeast. Sourdough takes longer, usually 6 to 10 hours at room temperature or 24 hours or more cold. The tool lists the starter as half flour and half water.
What temperature should the water be?
Aim for a finished dough temperature of about 73 to 77°F (23 to 25°C). The calculator uses the three-factor method: three times the target dough temperature, minus the flour temperature, the room temperature and a mixer friction factor, to suggest a water temperature.
How hot should my oven be and how long do I bake?
As hot as your oven goes, usually 500 to 550°F (260 to 290°C), on a preheated stone or steel for 6 to 10 minutes for most thin and medium styles. Pan, Detroit and deep dish pizzas bake lower and longer, such as 425 to 500°F for 12 to 40 minutes. Each style card shows a typical bake.
Can I freeze pizza dough?
Yes. After the first rise, divide into balls, oil lightly, wrap or bag them and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours, then warm for 1 to 2 hours before stretching. Freezing slightly weakens the yeast, so a small extra pinch can help.
Can I print or save my pizza dough recipe?
Yes. Print / save as PDF prints only the recipe, schedule or style table for the tab you are viewing. You can also download a CSV or copy the summary. Nothing is uploaded and no sign-up is needed.
Sources and further reading
- Baker's percentage practice for pizza and bread dough, as used by professional bakers and culinary schools.
- Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) and Neapolitan pizza guidance on hydration, salt and bake conditions.
- King Arthur Baking, Serious Eats and Modernist Pizza-style resources on pizza dough hydration, flour and cold fermentation.
- Manufacturer guidance on instant, active dry and fresh yeast equivalents; the yeast percentage model here is a simplified planning estimate.
- USDA food safety guidance on raw flour and raw dough.
Sources were consulted in October 2026. Standards and rules can change, so always check the official page for your situation.