Use this pizza dough calculator to work out exact quantities for any number of pizzas, any size, at any hydration level. Enter your preferences below and the calculator gives you flour, water, salt, and yeast weights to the gram.
Pizza Dough Calculator
How to Use the Calculator
Number of pizzas: Count your total pizzas including any extras — it’s easier to have leftover dough than to run short. Cold-fermented dough balls keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Pizza size: Ball weight and pizza size are directly linked. A 250g ball stretches to about 12 inches. If you prefer a thicker crust, use a heavier ball for the same size pizza.
Hydration: This is the ratio of water to flour by weight. 60–65% is the standard range for Neapolitan dough — easier to handle and gives a good open crumb. 70–75% produces a lighter, airier crust but is stickier and harder to shape. Start at 65% if you’re new to pizza dough.
Salt: 2–2.5% is the standard Neapolitan range. Salt controls fermentation speed and improves flavour. Don’t add it directly on top of yeast — mix flour and water first, then add salt and yeast separately.
Yeast: Instant dried yeast (fast-action) is what most people use — it goes directly into the flour without activation. Fresh yeast is available from bakeries and some supermarkets; it’s more active, so you use less by weight. The calculator adjusts yeast quantities automatically for fermentation time — more fermentation time means less yeast needed.
Fermentation Times Explained
Same day (4–6 hours): Requires more yeast to produce enough gas in less time. The dough will be lighter in flavour than cold-fermented versions but perfectly usable. Good if you decide to make pizza in the afternoon for the evening.
Overnight (12–24 hours): The standard approach. Mix the evening before, leave in the fridge overnight, remove an hour before use. Gives noticeably better flavour than same-day dough — the slow fermentation develops complexity that fast dough lacks.
Cold ferment (48–72 hours): The best-flavour option. Very small amount of yeast, slow fermentation in the fridge. The dough develops a slight tang and a more complex flavour. At 72 hours the gluten relaxes significantly, making the dough easier to stretch than a freshly-made batch. Most Neapolitan pizzerias cold-ferment for at least 48 hours.
Baker’s Percentages Explained
This calculator uses baker’s percentages — all ingredients are expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. Flour is always 100%; water at 65% means 650ml of water per 1,000g of flour. This system makes scaling up or down straightforward: change the flour weight and every other ingredient scales proportionally. Once you understand baker’s percentages, you can adjust any recipe to your preference without needing a calculator.
For the full method using these quantities, see our Neapolitan pizza dough recipe. For flour selection, see best flour for pizza dough. For sourdough quantities, see our sourdough pizza dough recipe.
