Case 1
- How many dough balls?
- 4
- Weight per ball (g)
- 250g
- Hydration (% of flour)
- 60%
- Salt (% of flour)
- 2.5%
- Yeast (% of flour)
- 0.3%
614.3g
Open with these valuesPizza Dough Calculator
614.3g flour
Result: 614.3 g flourBaker's percentages set the flour at 100 % and everything else as a share of it. Multiply your balls by their weight, then divide that total by 1 plus the hydration, salt and yeast shares. Four 250 g balls at 60 / 2.5 / 0.3 need 614 g flour, 369 g water, 15 g salt and 2 g yeast.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: How many dough balls? 4, Weight per ball (g) 250 g, Hydration (% of flour) 60.0 %, Salt (% of flour) 2.50 %.
| Yeast (% of flour) (%) | Result (g) |
|---|---|
| 0.00 | 615.4 |
| 0.10 | 615.0 |
| 0.20 | 614.6 |
| 0.30Your value | 614.3 |
| 0.40 | 613.9 |
| 0.50 | 613.5 |
| 0.60 | 613.1 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- How many dough balls?
- 1
- Weight per ball (g)
- 250g
- Hydration (% of flour)
- 65%
- Salt (% of flour)
- 2.5%
- Yeast (% of flour)
- 0.2%
149.1g
Open with these valuesCase 3
- How many dough balls?
- 2
- Weight per ball (g)
- 300g
- Hydration (% of flour)
- 55%
- Salt (% of flour)
- 3%
- Yeast (% of flour)
- 0.4%
378.8g
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
flour = balls × weight each ÷ (1 + hydration% + salt% + yeast%)
- StepDecide how many bases you want and how heavy each ball is; 250 g suits a 30 cm pizza.
- StepMultiply the two — that is the total dough you are aiming at.
- StepDivide that total by 1 plus the three percentages to get the flour weight.
- ResultWater, salt and yeast are the flour weight times their own percentage.
Reference table
| Balls, g each, hydration, salt, yeast | Water, salt, yeast | Flour (g) |
|---|---|---|
| 1, 200, 60, 0, 0 | 75.0 g water, no salt, no yeast | 125.0 |
| 1, 250, 65, 2.5, 0.2 | 96.9 g / 3.7 g / 0.3 g | 149.1 |
| 2, 250, 70, 2.5, 0.3 | 202.5 g / 7.2 g / 0.9 g | 289.4 |
| 2, 300, 55, 3, 0.4 | 208.3 g / 11.4 g / 1.5 g | 378.8 |
| 4, 250, 60, 2.5, 0.3 | 368.6 g / 15.4 g / 1.8 g | 614.3 |
| 8, 250, 60, 2.5, 0.3 | 737.1 g / 30.7 g / 3.7 g | 1228.5 |
Questions
What is a baker's percentage?
It expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour fixed at 100 %. So 60 % hydration means water equal to 60 % of the flour, and 2.5 % salt means salt equal to 2.5 % of the flour. That is what lets one recipe scale cleanly to any batch size.
Why does the calculator give me the flour and not the dough?
You already know the dough weight — it is your ball count times your ball weight. The flour is the one number you cannot work out in your head, because the water, salt and yeast are all defined as fractions of it. Everything else on this page follows from that single figure.
What hydration should I use for pizza dough?
For Neapolitan-style pizza, 55 to 65 % is the classic range, workable by hand and easy to shape. Going to 70 % or above gives a wetter dough and an airier, more open crumb, but it is stickier to handle and usually wants a stronger flour. Start at 60 % and adjust from there.
How much should each dough ball weigh?
Around 250 g suits a 12-inch, 30 cm Neapolitan pizza. For a thinner or smaller base use 180 to 220 g, and go heavier for a pan pizza. That figure is a kitchen convention rather than a measured fact, so change it to match the pizzas you actually make.
How do fresh and dry yeast amounts differ?
Fresh yeast weighs roughly three times its instant-dry equivalent, so 0.3 % instant dry is closer to 0.9 % fresh. The percentage also depends on proof time and temperature: less for long, cold proofs and more for short, warm ones.
How much salt goes in pizza dough?
Most pizza recipes use 2 to 3 % salt as a baker's percentage. Salt seasons the dough and tightens the gluten for better structure. Much below 2 % tends to taste flat, and much above 3 % starts to slow the yeast down.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.