Dough Calculator
Calculate precise dough recipes for baking.
Dough Specifications
250g = 12" pizza, 300g = 14" pizza, 400g = 16" pizza
60-65% = crispy, 70-75% = chewy, 75%+ = artisan
Ingredient Amounts
How to Use the Dough Calculator
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.
Calculation Examples
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.
Frequently Asked 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 degrees 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.
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 degrees F or stays dormant in water cooler than 70 degrees 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 degrees 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.