How does the pizza dough calculator work?

Enter how many dough balls you want and the weight of each ball. The calculator multiplies them to get the total dough weight, then back-calculates flour and every other ingredient from baker's percentages (hydration, salt, yeast, oil, sugar).

What is baker's percentage?

In baker's percentage, flour is always 100% and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. For example, 62% hydration means water equal to 62% of the flour weight.

What hydration should I use for pizza dough?

About 60–65% suits Neapolitan and most home-oven pizzas; 70% and above gives a wetter, airier crumb typical of pan pizza but is harder to handle.

How much yeast does pizza dough need?

Instant dry yeast is commonly 0.2–0.5% of the flour weight for same-day dough, less for long cold ferments. The calculator lets you set the exact percentage.

Pizza Dough Calculator (Baker's Percentage)

Enter the number of dough balls and the weight you want each one, then get the exact flour, water, salt, yeast, oil and sugar in grams — calculated with baker's percentages.

Total dough

1000 g

4 balls × 250 g

Ingredient weights
Ingredient	Total	Per ball	Baker's %
Flour	606 g	151 g	100%
Water	376 g	94 g	62%
Salt	17 g	4.2 g	2.8%
Yeast (instant)	1.8 g	0.5 g	0.3%

Yeast equivalents: 1.8 g instant · 2.2 g active-dry · 5.5 g fresh (approx). Components are rounded; total = balls × ball weight is authoritative.

Author and verifiable methodology

Reviewed by: Ugo Candido — Conversion Data Reviewer

Ugo Candido reviews and validates the conversion data published on ChefSolver. He cross-references USDA FoodData Central density values against independent sources, verifies measurement methodology, and ensures every conversion table reflects real ingredient properties rather than generic approximations.

View reviewer profile

Model version: 1.0.0
Software tests last validated: 2026-07-11
Physical trials validated: No physical trials published yet

The planner is a transparent heuristic, not a calibrated scientific model or an exact prediction.

Formulas used

totalDoughWeight = numberOfBalls x ballWeight
totalPercentage = 100 + hydration + salt + yeast + oil + sugar
flour = totalDoughWeight / (totalPercentage / 100)
ingredient = flour x ingredientPct / 100

prefermentFlour = totalFlour x prefermentedFlourPct / 100
prefermentWater = prefermentFlour x prefermentHydrationPct / 100
mainFlour = totalFlour - prefermentFlour
mainWater = totalWater - prefermentWater
prefermentYeast = totalCommercialYeast x prefermentYeastSharePct / 100
mainYeast = totalCommercialYeast - prefermentYeast
prefermentWeight = prefermentFlour + prefermentWater + prefermentYeast

areaCm2 = pi x (diameterCm / 2)^2
loadingGPerCm2 = ballWeightG / areaCm2
recommendedWeightG = areaCm2 x targetLoadingGPerCm2
note: dough loading is a planning proxy, never converted to mm of baked thickness

idyEquivalentPct = selectedYeastPct x YEAST_FACTORS.instant / YEAST_FACTORS[selectedType]
YEAST_FACTORS = { fresh: 1, active-dry: 0.4, instant: 0.33 }

temperatureRate = q10 ^ ((temperatureC - referenceTemperatureC) / 10)
estimatedHoursMid = referenceHours x (referenceIdyPct / idyEquivalentPct) / temperatureRate
range: low = mid x (1 - uncertainty), high = mid x (1 + uncertainty)

activityRate(T) = q10 ^ ((T - 20) / 10)
requiredActivityHours = 24 x (0.10 / idyEquivalentPct)
knownActivity = preColdHours x activityRate(roomTemp) + postColdHours x activityRate(roomTemp)
coldHoursMid = max(0, (requiredActivityHours - knownActivity) / activityRate(fridgeTemp))

Constants

referenceTemperatureC = 20
referenceIdyPct = 0.1
referenceHours = 24
q10 = 2
temperatureDomainC = [4,30]
uncertaintyComfortRangeC = [15,27]
uncertaintyInComfort = 0.35
uncertaintyOutside = 0.55

Validation cases

Validation cases
Case	Input	Expected
Neapolitan 250 g	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=250, hydrationPct=62, saltPct=2.8, yeastPct=0.3`	`totalDoughWeight=1000, flour=606, water=376, salt=17, yeast=1.8, bakersWater=62`
Home oven 270 g	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=270, hydrationPct=65, saltPct=2.5, yeastPct=0.4, oilPct=1`	`totalDoughWeight=1080, flour=639, water=416, salt=16, oil=6.4`
Pan, high hydration	`numberOfBalls=2, ballWeight=400, hydrationPct=75, saltPct=2, yeastPct=0.5, oilPct=2, sugarPct=1`	`totalDoughWeight=800, flour=443, water=332, sugar=4.4, bakersWater=75`
Poolish 20% / 100% hydration / 100% yeast share	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=250, hydrationPct=62, saltPct=2.8, yeastPct=0.3, preferment=poolish`	`build={"flour":121,"water":121,"yeast":1.8,"weight":244}, finalMix={"flour":485,"water":254,"yeast":0}`
Biga 30% / 45% hydration / 100% yeast share	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=250, hydrationPct=62, saltPct=2.8, yeastPct=0.3, preferment=biga`	`build={"flour":182,"water":82,"yeast":1.8,"weight":265}, finalMix={"flour":424,"water":294,"yeast":0}`
Sourdough 15% / 100% hydration / 0% commercial yeast	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=250, hydrationPct=62, saltPct=2.8, yeastPct=0, preferment=sourdough`	`build={"flour":91,"water":91,"yeast":0,"weight":182}, finalMix={"flour":516,"water":285,"yeast":0}`
Sourdough with commercial yeast > 0 (hybrid)	`numberOfBalls=4, ballWeight=250, hydrationPct=62, saltPct=2.8, yeastPct=0.3, preferment=sourdough`

Transparent fermentation planner

Workflow

Same day (single temperature)Cold fermentation (fridge)

Room temperature (°C)

Estimated fermentation window

5.2–10.8 h

Midpoint: 8 h · ±35%

Use the range, not a single time — the dough is ready when it has visibly grown and feels airy.

Formula used

temperatureRate = q10 ^ ((temperatureC - referenceTemperatureC) / 10)
estimatedHoursMid = referenceHours x (referenceIdyPct / idyEquivalentPct) / temperatureRate
range: low = mid x (1 - uncertainty), high = mid x (1 + uncertainty)
idyEquivalentPct = selectedYeastPct x YEAST_FACTORS.instant / YEAST_FACTORS[selectedType]
YEAST_FACTORS = { fresh: 1, active-dry: 0.4, instant: 0.33 }

Constants

referenceTemperatureC = 20
referenceIdyPct = 0.10
referenceHours = 24
q10 = 2
temperature domain = 4–30 °C

Not modelled

flour strength / W
real yeast or starter activity
kneading and dough development
pH and acidity
container shape
actual dough temperature vs room temperature

Recommended weight by diameter and style

StyleDiameter (cm)

Neapolitan · Target loading 0.33 g/cm² (Loading band 0.3–0.36)
Area	707 cm²
Current loading	0.35 g/cm² (medium)
Recommended ball weight	233 g

Dough loading (g/cm²) is a planning proxy for how thick the base feels — not a measure of baked thickness. We describe it only as thin, medium or thick.

Starting points you can edit — not universal standards.

Poolish, biga and sourdough

Preferment

Operational timeline

Same day
Phase	When	Note
Mix	`T+0`	Combine flour, water, salt and yeast until no dry flour remains.
Initial rest	`T+5 min`	Let the dough relax, 20–30 min, before shaping strength.
Folds (optional)	`T+30 min – T+60 min`	Two folds at about 30 and 60 min to build strength.
Bulk fermentation	`T+60 min – T+3.2 h`	Rise as one mass until visibly grown and airy.
Divide & ball	`T+3.2 h – T+4.4 h`	Divide and shape into balls.
Final proof	`T+3.2 h – T+8 h`	Proof the balls until puffy and relaxed.
Bake	`T+8 h`	Bake as hot as your oven allows.

Original experiments

We plan to publish original, single-variable dough experiments here.

No verified experimental results are published yet. Nothing below is fabricated data.

Planned protocol

Controlled single-variable series: hold flour, formula and process constant while varying one factor (hydration, temperature, or ball diameter), then record objective measurements and observations.

Same flour (brand, type, protein/W where available)
Same salt %, oil %, sugar % and yeast type
Documented dough temperature after mixing and ambient temperature
Same mixing and folding protocol
Same oven and bake settings within a series

Series structure

Hydration series

Compare the SAME flour and formula at different hydration levels.

Held constant: flour, flourType, saltPct, yeastPct, yeastType, oilPct, sugarPct, process

Varied: hydrationPct

Recorded: hydrationPct, doughFeel, extensibility, crumbOpenness, handlingNotes

Temperature series

Compare the SAME recipe and yeast quantity at different temperatures.

Held constant: flour, flourType, formula, yeastPct, yeastType

Varied: temperatureC

Recorded: temperatureC, measuredRiseHours, riseRatio, aromaNotes

Ball / diameter series

Relate ball weight and stretched diameter to computed dough loading.

Held constant: flour, flourType, formula

Varied: ballWeightG

Recorded: ballWeightG, diameterCm, areaCm2, loadingGPerCm2, relativeFeel

A row can only appear as verified when backed by real, documented evidence.

Embed this tool

Add this tool to your own site with one iframe.

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Dough weights follow standard baker's percentages; hydration and yeast values are typical starting points — adjust for flour and ambient conditions. Full method notes in the tool on ChefSolver.

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How the calculator works

Total dough = number of balls × ball weight. From that total, flour is found by dividing by the sum of all baker's percentages (100% flour + hydration + salt + yeast + oil + sugar), and every other ingredient is then a percentage of that flour weight. The total you set is authoritative; the per-ingredient grams are rounded for convenience.

Baker's percentage explained

Why flour = 100%

Bakers express every ingredient relative to flour, so recipes scale to any batch size. Flour is the 100% reference; 62% hydration simply means water = 62% of the flour weight.

Worked example

4 balls × 250 g = 1000 g total at 62% hydration, 2.8% salt and 0.3% instant yeast gives roughly 606 g flour, 376 g water, 17 g salt and 1.8 g yeast.

Hydration and dough texture

60–65% (Neapolitan / home oven)

Easier to shape, classic chewy-tender crust for most home setups.

70%+ (pan / airy)

Wetter dough, more open crumb, better for pan and focaccia-style bakes but stickier to handle.

Salt, yeast, oil and sugar percentages

Salt is typically 2–3% for flavour and gluten control; instant yeast 0.2–0.5% for same-day dough; oil 0–3% for softness; sugar 0–2% for browning. Use the advanced options to set each one.

Yeast type conversion

Relative to fresh yeast (=1): active dry ≈ 0.4 and instant ≈ 0.33. The calculator shows the equivalent grams in all three types.

Common mistakes

Adding flour by cups instead of grams — weigh for consistency.
Using the wrong ball weight for your pan or peel size.
Letting salt touch yeast directly before mixing.
Forgetting that percentages are of flour, not of total dough.

FAQ

How does the pizza dough calculator work?: Enter how many dough balls you want and the weight of each ball. The calculator multiplies them to get the total dough weight, then back-calculates flour and every other ingredient from baker's percentages (hydration, salt, yeast, oil, sugar).
What is baker's percentage?: In baker's percentage, flour is always 100% and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. For example, 62% hydration means water equal to 62% of the flour weight.
What hydration should I use for pizza dough?: About 60–65% suits Neapolitan and most home-oven pizzas; 70% and above gives a wetter, airier crumb typical of pan pizza but is harder to handle.
How much yeast does pizza dough need?: Instant dry yeast is commonly 0.2–0.5% of the flour weight for same-day dough, less for long cold ferments. The calculator lets you set the exact percentage.
How do I convert between instant, active dry and fresh yeast?: As an approximation relative to fresh yeast (=1): active dry ≈ 0.4 and instant ≈ 0.33. The calculator shows the equivalent amount in all three types.