Dough Calculator
Calculate precise ingredient amounts for pizza dough, bread dough, and focaccia using baker's percentages. Get consistent, professional results with accurate hydration ratios.
Dough Specifications
250g = 12" pizza, 300g = 14" pizza, 400g = 16" pizza
60-65% = crispy, 70-75% = chewy, 75%+ = artisan
Ingredient Amounts
Baker's Percentages Explained
Baker's percentages work differently than normal cooking ratios. Instead of measuring ingredients relative to each other, everything gets measured relative to flour weight, which always equals 100%. If your recipe uses 500 grams of flour and 325 grams of water, the water percentage is 65% (325 divided by 500). This system lets you scale recipes up or down perfectly while maintaining the exact same texture and flavor.
Professional bakers use this method because it ensures consistency across different batch sizes. A home baker making two pizza doughs and a pizzeria making fifty use the identical percentages. The flour amount changes, but the ratios stay constant. Once you find a pizza dough you love at 65% hydration with 2% salt, you can make any quantity using those percentages and get the same result every time.
Hydration percentage matters most for dough texture. Lower hydration around 55-60% creates stiff dough that handles easily and produces crispy, cracker-like crusts. Medium hydration from 60-70% gives chewy texture with some crispness - the sweet spot for most pizza styles. High hydration above 70% makes sticky, wet dough that requires practice to handle but produces airy, hole-filled crumb like artisan bread and Neapolitan pizza.
Salt typically sits at 2% of flour weight across most bread and pizza recipes. This percentage provides enough flavor and gluten strengthening without overpowering the dough or inhibiting yeast too much. Yeast percentages vary more widely - quick-rise doughs use 1-2% instant yeast, while overnight cold fermentation uses just 0.1-0.5% yeast. Less yeast plus more time develops better flavor through slower fermentation.
Oil gets added to some dough types but not others. Pizza dough often includes 2-3% oil for tenderness and browning. Focaccia uses 5% or more for its rich, almost fried texture. Traditional bread dough contains no oil, relying entirely on flour, water, salt, and yeast. The oil percentage changes the dough's behavior - oiled doughs stay softer longer and brown more deeply during baking.
Dough Hydration Guide
55-60% Hydration
LowStiff, easy-to-handle dough that produces crispy, cracker-like crusts. Works well for thin-crust pizza, crackers, and pasta dough. Minimal sticking makes this beginner-friendly.
60-70% Hydration
MediumBalanced dough with good handling properties and chewy texture. The most versatile range for pizza and everyday bread. Produces nice oven spring and decent hole structure.
70-80% Hydration
HighWet, sticky dough requiring skill to handle. Creates open crumb with large, irregular holes and crispy-chewy texture. Needs strong flour and proper technique.
80%+ Hydration
Very HighExtremely wet batter-like dough requiring advanced technique and high-protein flour. Produces dramatically open crumb and crispy crust. Usually needs no-knead or minimal handling methods.
Pizza Dough Specifications
Pizza dough weight determines your final pizza size. A 250-gram dough ball stretches to roughly a 12-inch pizza - perfect for individual servings. Bump up to 300-350 grams for a 14-inch pizza that serves two people. Large 16-18 inch pizzas need 400-500 gram dough balls. These weights assume you stretch the dough to medium thickness - stretching thinner requires less dough for the same diameter.
Neapolitan pizza uses high hydration dough around 65-70% with just flour, water, salt, and minimal yeast. The wet dough and hot oven (800-900°F) create the characteristic puffy, charred crust with chewy interior. New York style pizza sits at 60-63% hydration with a bit of oil and sugar, producing a foldable slice with crispy bottom and chewy interior. Detroit and Chicago styles use different ratios optimized for pan pizza and deep dish.
Cold fermentation dramatically improves pizza dough flavor. Mix your dough, portion into balls, and refrigerate for 24-72 hours. The slow fermentation develops complex flavors and makes the dough easier to stretch. Use less yeast for cold fermentation - just 0.1-0.3% compared to 1-2% for same-day dough. Remove dough from the fridge 2-3 hours before baking to warm up for easier stretching.
Flour choice affects your dough's performance. All-purpose flour works fine for home pizza at 60-65% hydration. Bread flour with higher protein content (12-14%) handles higher hydration better and produces chewier crust. Italian 00 flour creates smooth, extensible dough perfect for Neapolitan pizza but costs more and isn't always necessary. Start with good bread flour before seeking specialty flours.
Bread Dough Fundamentals
Basic bread dough contains just four ingredients in specific proportions: flour (100%), water (60-70%), salt (2%), and yeast (0.5-2%). This simplicity allows the wheat flavor to shine while producing reliable results. Sandwich bread sits around 60-65% hydration for even, fine crumb that slices cleanly. Artisan loaves use 70-75% hydration for more open crumb with irregular holes and crispy crust.
Kneading develops gluten strands that give bread its structure and chew. Traditional hand kneading takes 8-10 minutes of pushing, folding, and turning until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Stand mixers accomplish the same result in 5-7 minutes on medium speed. Higher hydration doughs often skip intensive kneading in favor of gentle folding during fermentation, which develops gluten more gradually.
Proofing time and temperature control fermentation flavor. Warm proofing at 75-80°F speeds up rising - first rise takes 1-2 hours, second rise about 45-60 minutes. Cool proofing at 65-70°F slows everything down but develops more complex flavor over 3-4 hours. Overnight refrigerator proofing at 38-40°F takes 12-18 hours and produces the most flavorful bread with minimal yeast (0.1-0.3%).
Bread baking temperature and steam injection create great crust. Start your oven at 450-475°F for most hearth breads. Add steam during the first 10-15 minutes by placing a pan of water in the oven or spraying the dough. Steam keeps the crust soft initially so the bread can expand fully, then evaporates to allow browning and crisping. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 200-210°F and the crust sounds hollow when tapped.
Fixing Dough Problems
Dough Too Sticky to Handle
High hydration dough naturally feels sticky - that's normal. Wet your hands instead of adding flour, which changes the hydration ratio. Use a bench scraper to handle sticky dough rather than your fingers. If the dough is genuinely too wet and won't hold shape at all, you may have mis-measured or need stronger flour. Next time reduce hydration by 5% or use bread flour instead of all-purpose.
Dough Too Stiff and Dry
Dry, stiff dough that tears when stretched needs more water. You can knead in small amounts of water (1 tablespoon at a time) until the texture improves. For next time, increase hydration by 5% or check your flour measurement - scooping flour directly from the bag packs it dense and can add 20% more flour than weighing. Always weigh flour for accuracy.
Dough Won't Rise
Check your yeast freshness - old yeast loses potency. Yeast also dies in water hotter than 120°F or stays dormant in water cooler than 70°F. Too much salt directly touching yeast can inhibit it - mix flour and water first, then add salt and yeast separately. Give the dough more time in a warmer spot (75-80°F is ideal). If nothing happens after 3 hours, the yeast is dead and you need to start over.
Pizza Dough Tears When Stretching
Cold dough tears easily - let it warm to room temperature for 1-2 hours before stretching. Dough that hasn't rested enough after kneading fights back and tears - give it at least 30 minutes to relax. Under-kneaded dough lacks gluten development and won't stretch. Conversely, over-worked dough becomes tough. Gentle handling and patience solve most stretching problems.
Essential Dough Techniques
Autolyse Method
Mix flour and water and let sit for 20-60 minutes before adding salt and yeast. This rest period allows flour to fully hydrate and begins gluten development without kneading. The technique produces more extensible dough that stretches easily and requires less kneading time. Particularly useful for high-hydration doughs.
Stretch and Fold
Instead of kneading, gently stretch one side of the dough and fold it over the center. Rotate and repeat on all four sides. Rest 30 minutes and repeat 3-4 times during fermentation. This gentle method develops gluten in wet doughs without intensive kneading and preserves the airy structure.
Windowpane Test
Stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers. Properly developed dough stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing - like a windowpane. If it tears immediately, keep kneading. This test confirms gluten development is complete regardless of kneading time, which varies with flour and technique.
Bulk Fermentation
The first rise after kneading allows yeast to produce carbon dioxide and develop flavor. Dough should roughly double in size. Time varies from 1 hour (warm, lots of yeast) to 24 hours (cold, minimal yeast). Longer fermentation creates better flavor but requires less yeast and cooler temperatures to prevent over-proofing.
Dough Making Questions
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast?
Yes, but active dry yeast needs activation in warm water first while instant yeast mixes directly into flour. Use the same weight of active dry yeast, or slightly more since it's less potent. Dissolve active dry yeast in a portion of your recipe's water (heated to 105-110°F) and wait 5-10 minutes until foamy before adding to the dough.
How do I know when my dough has proofed enough?
Use the poke test - gently press your finger about half an inch into the dough. If the indentation slowly springs back halfway, the dough is ready. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If the indentation stays and doesn't spring back at all, you've over-proofed and should bake immediately to avoid collapse. Most doughs roughly double in size when properly proofed.
Why does my homemade bread have tight, dense crumb?
Dense bread usually results from insufficient gluten development, under-proofing, or too much flour. Knead longer or use the stretch-and-fold method to develop gluten properly. Make sure both rises complete fully - rushing either one creates dense bread. Measure flour by weight rather than volume since scooped flour weighs 20-30% more than it should, creating dry, heavy dough.
Can I freeze pizza dough?
Yes, freeze dough balls after the first rise. Wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then let sit at room temperature 1-2 hours before using. Alternatively, freeze after shaping into pizza bases between sheets of parchment paper for ready-to-top convenience.
What's the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour for dough?
Bread flour contains 12-14% protein compared to 10-12% in all-purpose flour. Higher protein means more gluten formation, creating chewier texture and better structure for high-hydration doughs. Bread flour handles wetter doughs without becoming too slack. All-purpose flour works fine for pizza and basic breads at normal hydration, but bread flour performs better for artisan loaves and very wet doughs.
How can I add flavor to basic dough?
Longer fermentation develops flavor naturally - try overnight refrigerator proofing with minimal yeast. Add herbs, garlic, cheese, or olive oil for direct flavor additions. Using a portion of whole wheat or rye flour adds nutty complexity. Some bakers replace part of the water with beer, milk, or potato water for unique flavors. Sugar, honey, or malt powder add subtle sweetness and improve browning.