This calculator uses baker's percentages to compute ingredient weights for any pizza dough recipe. You specify how many dough balls you need and how heavy each ball should be, along with the hydration, salt, and yeast percentages. The calculator finds your flour weight first, then derives water, salt, and yeast from it.
The Formula
Total Dough = Balls x Weight Per Ball Flour = Total Dough / (1 + Hydration% + Salt% + Yeast%) Water = Flour x Hydration% Salt = Flour x Salt% Yeast = Flour x Yeast%
New York: 63% hydration, 2% salt, 0.4% yeast - soft and pliable for hand-tossed pies
Pan / Detroit: 70% hydration, 2% salt, 0.5% yeast - wet, open-crumb dough for pan pizza
Custom: Adjust all percentages freely for any style
Example Calculation
You want to make 4 Neapolitan dough balls at 280 g each, with 60% hydration, 2.5% salt, and 0.2% yeast.
Total dough (4 x 280 g)1,120 g
Divisor (1 + 0.60 + 0.025 + 0.002)1.627
Flour (1120 / 1.627)688.4 g
Water (688.4 x 60%)413.0 g
Salt (688.4 x 2.5%)17.2 g
Yeast (688.4 x 0.2%)1.4 g
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Measuring flour by volume (cups) instead of weight: a cup of flour varies by 20% or more depending on how it is scooped, making consistent dough impossible
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Confusing fresh yeast with instant yeast percentages: fresh yeast is roughly 3 times stronger than instant; 0.2% fresh is equivalent to about 0.07% instant dry
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Starting with 70%+ hydration as a beginner: high-hydration dough is very sticky and difficult to shape without technique; start at 60-63% and build from there
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Not accounting for water temperature: cold water dramatically slows fermentation; warm water speeds it up; target 65-70°F for a predictable rise
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Scaling yeast up proportionally for larger batches: yeast is already calculated as a percentage of flour weight, so scaling the flour automatically handles the yeast
Frequently Asked Questions
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour always equal to 100%. If your recipe uses 1000 g of flour and 630 g of water, the hydration is 63%. This system makes it easy to scale any recipe up or down and compare recipes regardless of total batch size. This calculator works backwards from your desired total dough weight to find the flour weight first, then derives everything else.
Primary reference for baker's percentage methodology, style-specific hydration ranges, and fermentation schedules used in the presets.
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Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN)
Official body governing Neapolitan pizza specifications, including the 58-63% hydration, 2.5% salt, and wood-fired oven standards used in the Neapolitan preset.
3
King Arthur Baking Company: Baker's Percentage Guide
Reference for baker's percentage definitions, flour weight calculation methodology, and ingredient ratio conventions used throughout this calculator.
HR
Hassaan Rasheed
Developer and Researcher, CalculatorFlux
Researches and verifies the formulas, methodology, and source data behind each calculator on CalculatorFlux. All tools are built and checked against the cited references before publication.
Weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale rather than measuring by volume. A cup of flour can vary by 20-30% in weight depending on how it is scooped. For pizza dough, gram-level precision in flour and water directly affects how the dough handles.