Free pizza dough calculator using baker's percentages: enter ball count, ball weight, and hydration to get exact flour, water, salt, yeast, oil, and sugar weights.
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Enter the number of dough balls and the weight of each ball, then set your baker's percentages for hydration, salt, yeast, oil, and sugar. The calculator totals the dough (balls × ball weight), then works backward: flour = total dough / (1 + sum of percentages / 100), because the total includes every ingredient on top of the flour. Each ingredient is then flour × its percentage / 100, rounded to 0.1 g. The parts always add back to your target dough weight, which is the built-in check that the math is right.
Baker's percentages are how bakers write formulas: flour is always 100%, and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. So 65% hydration means 65 g of water for every 100 g of flour, 2.5% salt means 2.5 g of salt per 100 g of flour, and so on. Because everything is relative to flour, the percentages in a formula can add up to more than 100: a dough at 65% hydration with 2.5% salt and 0.5% yeast totals 168% of the flour weight. The system makes scaling trivial: double the flour, double everything else, and the formula never changes.
Most home bakers start from the other end: they know how many pizzas they want and how heavy each dough ball should be. The back-calculation works in three steps. First, total dough = number of dough balls times ball weight. Second, flour = total dough / (1 + (hydration + salt + yeast + oil + sugar) / 100). Third, each ingredient = flour times its percentage / 100. The divisor simply undoes the fact that the total dough includes every ingredient on top of the flour. This is the same math EverydayTools and Best-Calculators show in their worked examples, and the calculator above runs it for you.
Hydration is the weight of the water as a percentage of the weight of the flour, not of the finished dough. That is the number-one misunderstanding in dough math. At 65% hydration, 500 g of flour needs 325 g of water; the salt, yeast, oil, and sugar sit on top of that and still count toward the total dough weight. Treating hydration as a share of the finished dough is the classic error: 65% of 1,000 g of finished dough would be 650 g of water, which is soup, not dough. Always multiply by the flour weight.
Hydration sets the character of the crust. Thin and crispy crusts run 55 to 60%: stiff, easy to handle, cracker-like. New York style runs 60 to 65%: chewy with a slice that holds its fold. Neapolitan runs 65 to 70%: soft, airy, with a puffy charred crust, best in very hot ovens. Pan and Sicilian run 70 to 75%: fluffy with an open crumb. Focaccia-style doughs can reach 75 to 85%, but they are very wet and slack, strictly advanced handling. Higher hydration gives a lighter, airier crumb with bigger bubbles, but the dough gets stickier and harder to stretch, so beginners should start around 60 to 62%.
Ball weight follows the pizza's area, so bigger pies need disproportionately more dough. As a planning guide used across the competitor charts: a 10-inch pizza takes about 200 to 280 g (Neapolitan) or 160 to 190 g (thin New York); a 12-inch takes about 230 to 280 g (Neapolitan) or 200 to 230 g (New York); a 14-inch takes about 300 to 340 g (Neapolitan) or 250 to 280 g (New York); a 16-inch party pie takes about 380 to 480 g. To scale between sizes yourself, use the area ratio: a 14-inch pizza has (7/6)², about 1.36 times the area of a 12-inch, so multiply the dough weight by 1.36.
Each ingredient earns its percentage. Salt, typically 2 to 3%, seasons the crust and tightens the gluten slightly; below about 1.5% the crust tastes flat. Yeast, typically 0.2 to 1% depending on type and ferment length, does the leavening; less yeast with a longer cold ferment gives more flavor, while same-day dough needs more. Olive oil, 0 to 3%, tenderizes the crumb and helps browning in home ovens; true Neapolitan dough uses none. Sugar or honey, 0 to 2%, is mostly about browning: home ovens do not get hot enough to color a lean crust the way a 450 C pizza oven does, so a little sugar closes the gap. Add oil last when mixing, after the flour is fully hydrated.
Instant yeast and active dry yeast are used 1:1 by weight in dough math, with instant usually dosed a little lower (0.3 to 0.6% vs 0.5 to 1% for active dry). Fresh yeast is much weaker per gram: use about 2.7 times the dry weight. The amount of yeast is really a timer setting. For a 24 to 48 hour cold ferment in the fridge, 0.2 to 0.4% instant yeast is plenty; the long, slow ferment builds the flavor and open crumb that make pizzeria dough taste like pizzeria dough. For same-day room-temperature dough, you need considerably more, around 0.6 to 1%. Warmer kitchens need less yeast or less time, and you should judge the dough, not the clock.
The classics, collected from the competitor guides: treating hydration as a percentage of the finished dough instead of the flour; forgetting to include salt, yeast, oil, and sugar when back-calculating flour from a target dough weight, which silently throws every number off; measuring flour in cups and calling the gram figure exact; leaving poolish or biga flour out of the final flour total, which raises the real hydration; stretching a 12-inch ball to 16 inches and wondering why the crust went thin; and trying to dose 0.3 g of yeast on a kitchen scale that only reads whole grams.
Weigh your ingredients. Volume cups vary far too much for consistent dough: flour settles, scoops pack differently, and a cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 110 to 140 g. Water is the easy one, since 1 g of water is 1 ml, but flour, salt, sugar, and oil all need the scale. A basic kitchen scale that reads to 1 g is enough for everything except tiny yeast doses, where a 0.1 g jewelry scale pays for itself. Once you weigh, your dough becomes repeatable: the same numbers give the same dough every time.
Four 250 g dough balls at 65% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.5% yeast, no oil, no sugar. Total dough = 4 × 250 = 1,000 g. The divisor = 1 + (65 + 2.5 + 0.5 + 0 + 0) / 100 = 1.68. Flour = 1,000 / 1.68 = 595.2 g. Water = 595.2 × 0.65 = 386.9 g. Salt = 595.2 × 0.025 = 14.9 g. Yeast = 595.2 × 0.005 = 3.0 g. The parts add back to 1,000 g, which is the built-in check: flour + water + salt + yeast should always equal balls times ball weight.
Scaling for a crowd is the same math with bigger numbers. Eight 280 g balls at 62% hydration, 2% salt, 0.4% yeast, 1.5% oil, 1% sugar: total dough = 8 × 280 = 2,240 g; divisor = 1 + (62 + 2 + 0.4 + 1.5 + 1) / 100 = 1.669; flour = 2,240 / 1.669 = 1,342.1 g; water = 832.1 g; salt = 26.8 g; yeast = 5.4 g; oil = 20.1 g; sugar = 13.4 g. Change one thing at a time between bakes and write down what you changed, so you learn which adjustment did what.
Enter how many dough balls you want and how heavy each ball should be in grams, then set your baker's percentages: hydration, salt, yeast, oil, and sugar. The calculator totals the dough, divides by one plus the percentages to find the flour, and multiplies out each ingredient, rounding everything to 0.1 g. Start with the defaults (four 250 g balls, 65% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.5% yeast) for a classic all-round dough, then adjust the hydration for your pizza style using the table above.
Decide how much dough you need (balls times ball weight), then divide by 1 plus the baker's percentages: flour = total dough / (1 + (hydration + salt + yeast + oil + sugar) / 100). Each ingredient is flour times its percentage / 100. Example: four 250 g balls at 65% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.5% yeast need 595.2 g flour, 386.9 g water, 14.9 g salt, and 3.0 g yeast. The calculator above does it in one step.
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour always at 100%. So 65% hydration means 65 g of water per 100 g of flour, and 2.5% salt means 2.5 g of salt per 100 g of flour. The percentages can total more than 100%, and scaling is trivial: double the flour and you double everything.
It means the water weighs 65% as much as the flour. With 500 g of flour, 65% hydration needs 325 g of water. Hydration is always relative to flour weight, never to the finished dough weight: 65% of the finished dough would be far too much water. Salt, yeast, oil, and sugar sit on top of the water and still count toward the total dough mass.
It depends on thickness and style. A 12-inch Neapolitan pizza typically uses 230 to 280 g of dough; a 12-inch New York style uses about 200 to 230 g; a thin 12-inch can use less. The calculator works backward from the ball weight you choose, so set it from the chart above and it will give you the matching ingredient weights.
There is no single correct weight, but common ranges are: 10-inch, 160 to 280 g; 12-inch, 200 to 280 g; 14-inch, 250 to 340 g; 16-inch, 380 to 480 g, depending on style and thickness. Neapolitan pies run lighter per inch than pan pizzas. Weigh each ball after dividing the bulk dough.
Neapolitan pizza is best at 65 to 70% hydration, giving a soft, airy crumb with a puffy charred crust in a very hot oven. True Neapolitan dough is lean: flour, water, salt, and yeast only, no oil or sugar. Start at 65% if you are new to high hydration; the dough gets stickier as the number climbs.
New York-style dough usually sits at 60 to 65% hydration, often with 1 to 3% oil and up to 1% sugar to help browning in a home oven. The slightly lower hydration keeps the slice structured so it holds its fold instead of flopping. Many home recipes settle at 62% as the sweet spot between stretchability and structure.
Use less yeast for longer, colder ferments. For a 24 to 48 hour cold ferment in the fridge, 0.2 to 0.4% instant yeast is plenty; the slow ferment builds flavor. For a 1 to 3 day cold ferment at 0.4%, the dough develops gradually without over-proofing. Same-day room-temperature dough needs considerably more, around 0.6 to 1%. Too much yeast makes the dough taste yeasty and collapse.
You can, but your dough will be inconsistent. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 110 to 140 g depending on how it is scooped and settled, which swings your real hydration by several points. Weighing in grams makes the dough repeatable. Water is the exception: 1 ml of water weighs 1 g, so milliliters and grams are interchangeable.
Multiply your way up: total dough = balls times ball weight, then run the back-calculation. Doubling from 4 to 8 balls doubles every ingredient exactly, because baker's percentages scale linearly. The calculator handles any ball count, and the worked party example above shows eight 280 g balls worked out in full.
Active dry yeast and instant yeast are used 1:1 by weight in dough formulas, though instant is usually dosed slightly lower since it is a touch stronger. Fresh (cake) yeast is much weaker per gram: use about 2.7 times the dry weight. Active dry traditionally gets proofed in warm water first, while instant can go straight into the flour.
Longer is usually better, up to a point. A 24 to 48 hour cold ferment in the refrigerator develops noticeably more flavor and a more open crumb than same-day dough. Some doughs go 72 hours. Judge the dough, not the clock: it should be puffy and full of small bubbles, and it should not have collapsed or started to tear when stretched.
Usually the hydration is higher than your handling skills for now, or you added bench flour unevenly. Wetter doughs above 65 to 70% are naturally tacky; wet your hands lightly instead of flouring heavily, use a bench scraper, and give the dough a proper bulk ferment so the gluten develops. Beginners should start at 60 to 62% hydration, which is firm and easy to stretch.
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