Understanding baker's percentages and hydration
In the baker's percentage convention every ingredient is stated relative to the flour weight (flour = 100%). The table shows this calculator's formula and each ingredient's role.
| Ingredient | Baker's % | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 100% | The reference — all other percentages are relative to flour weight |
| Water | 50-90% (your hydration setting) | Dough softness, extensibility and crumb openness |
| Salt | 2.8% | Flavor and gluten strengthening; common pizza range is roughly 2-3% |
| Yeast (fresh, baseline) | 0.2% | Fermentation; scaled up or down with temperature and time |
- The 0.2% yeast figure is a fresh-yeast baseline for slow, room-temperature fermentation. Active dry yeast is used at roughly 40-50% of the fresh weight and instant yeast at roughly a third; warmer or shorter fermentations need adjusting accordingly.
- Salt at 2.8% follows common Neapolitan-style practice; recipes vary roughly between 2% and 3% of flour weight.
- Hydration guidance is stylistic, not absolute: Neapolitan tradition typically uses about 58-65%, while pan styles and high-hydration Roman-style doughs run higher.
- Flour strength matters — high-hydration doughs generally need stronger (higher-protein) flour to hold their structure.
What is a pizza dough calculator?
A pizza dough calculator converts a target — a number of pizzas at a chosen dough-ball weight — into precise ingredient weights using baker's percentages. Baker's percentages express every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour itself fixed at 100%. Water at 62% hydration means 62 g of water per 100 g of flour; salt at 2.8% means 2.8 g of salt per 100 g of flour. This convention lets bakers scale a formula to any batch size and compare recipes at a glance.
Hydration (the water-to-flour ratio) is the single biggest lever on dough character. Lower-hydration doughs (around 55-60%) are firmer, easier to handle and suit longer, hotter home-oven bakes. Neapolitan-style tradition typically works around 58-65% hydration, producing a soft, extensible dough for very hot, fast bakes. Higher hydrations (70% and above) give open, airy crumbs but are stickier and harder to shape.
Dough ball weight determines pizza size. As a common convention, balls of roughly 200-280 g suit 10-12 inch (25-30 cm) pizzas, with Neapolitan pizzerias commonly portioning in this range. Larger pans and thicker styles use heavier balls.
How to use this pizza dough calculator
- Enter the number of pizzas you want to make.
- Set the dough ball weight in grams — around 250 g is a common choice for a 10-12 inch pizza.
- Set the hydration percentage. If unsure, start near 60-62%; Neapolitan tradition typically sits around 58-65%.
- Read the flour, water, salt and yeast weights, plus the total dough weight, and weigh each ingredient on a digital scale.
The formula behind the dough: baker's percentages
Total dough weight is the number of pizzas multiplied by the ball weight. Since every ingredient is a fixed percentage of flour, total dough equals flour × (1 + hydration + salt% + yeast%). Solving for flour gives the flour weight, and the other ingredients follow as percentages of it. This calculator fixes salt at 2.8% and yeast at 0.2% (a fresh-yeast baseline for room-temperature fermentation).
Worked example: 4 pizzas at 250 g each and 62% hydration. Total dough = 4 × 250 = 1000 g. Flour = 1000 ÷ (1 + 0.62 + 0.028 + 0.002) = 1000 ÷ 1.65 = 606 g. Water = 606 × 0.62 = 376 g, salt = 606 × 0.028 = 17 g, and yeast = 606 × 0.002 = 1.2 g.
Common mistakes
- Measuring flour and water by volume — baker's percentages only work reliably by weight, so use a digital scale.
- Computing water as a percentage of total dough instead of flour — hydration is always relative to flour weight (62% hydration means 62 g water per 100 g flour).
- Using the same yeast quantity for fresh, active dry and instant yeast — dry yeasts are more concentrated and need roughly a third to a half of the fresh weight.
- Jumping straight to very high hydration — doughs above about 70% are sticky and hard to shape without practice.
- Forgetting that fermentation time and temperature interact with yeast quantity — a formula for a slow room-temperature rise over-proofs quickly in a warm kitchen.
よくある質問
What hydration should I use for pizza dough?
Neapolitan tradition typically works around 58-65% hydration, and 60-62% is a forgiving starting point for home bakers. Lower hydration (55-60%) is easier to handle and suits crisp home-oven bakes; higher hydration (70%+) gives an airier crumb but is stickier and harder to shape. Hydration is always stated as water weight divided by flour weight.
What are baker's percentages?
Baker's percentages express every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour fixed at 100%. A dough at 62% hydration, 2.8% salt and 0.2% yeast contains 62 g water, 2.8 g salt and 0.2 g yeast for every 100 g of flour. The convention makes formulas scalable to any batch size and easy to compare.
How big should a pizza dough ball be?
As a common convention, a 200-280 g dough ball suits a 10-12 inch (25-30 cm) round pizza, and 250 g is a popular middle value. Thicker pan styles use heavier balls for the same diameter. This calculator lets you set any ball weight from 100 g to 1200 g.
How much yeast does pizza dough need?
This calculator uses 0.2% of flour weight as a fresh-yeast baseline for a slow, room-temperature fermentation. Convert for other yeast types: active dry yeast is used at roughly 40-50% of the fresh weight, and instant yeast at roughly a third. Warm rooms or short fermentation windows call for adjusting the quantity or the schedule; long cold fermentations tolerate very small amounts.
How much salt goes in pizza dough?
Common practice is roughly 2-3% of flour weight; this calculator uses 2.8%, in line with typical Neapolitan-style formulas. Salt contributes flavor and strengthens the gluten network. Very low salt makes dough slack and bland, while much above 3% slows fermentation noticeably.
Why does the calculator work backwards from total dough weight?
Because pizzas are portioned by ball weight, the practical target is total dough (pizzas × ball weight). Since every ingredient is a fixed percentage of flour, total dough equals flour × (1 + hydration + 0.028 + 0.002), so dividing the total by that factor recovers the flour weight, and water, salt and yeast follow as percentages of the flour.
参考文献
- Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). International Regulations for obtaining the 'Verace Pizza Napoletana' mark — dough specification. pizzanapoletana.org.
- King Arthur Baking Company. Baker's percentage (baker's math) reference. kingarthurbaking.com.
- Modernist Cuisine / Modernist Pizza (Myhrvold & Migoya, 2021) — pizza dough styles and hydration ranges.