Dough calculator and bake planner
Make pizza worth staying in for.
Tell us what you’re making. We’ll work out the dough, the timings and how hot to run your oven.
- Styles
- Neapolitan, New York and Chicago deep-dish
- Proofing
- Same day, or a 1–3 day cold ferment
- Weights
- Exact to the gram for your batch
- Privacy
- No account. Saved on this device
Your pizza
Style, quantity and size
Not sure? Start with Neapolitan if you have a pizza oven, or New York for a kitchen oven.
You’ve changed the ratios or dough weight. Switch them to the new style’s defaults?
Deep-dish dough lines the sides as well as the base
How much dough do I need?
We scale each style’s typical 12-inch weight by the area of your pizza. Use more dough for a thicker base or a bigger rim, and less for a thinner one.
For Chicago deep-dish, we include the dough that lines the sides of the pan, so set its depth. Treat the weight as a starting point and adjust it to your pan.
Your oven
So we can suggest temperatures and bake times
Choose the closest match. You don’t need the brand.
Use the manufacturer’s rated maximum. We’ll never suggest going above it.
Stone or air temperature?
Pizza ovens are judged by the temperature of the stone or floor, measured with an infrared thermometer. Kitchen ovens are judged by the air temperature on the dial.
The two aren’t interchangeable. A stone can be much cooler or hotter than the air around it.
Your dough
Yeast and ingredient ratios
Check the packet name and protein
Mixers warm the dough more
Which flour should I use?
00 is an Italian milling grade, not a strength. Pizza 00 is made for very hot ovens. Bread flour (also sold as strong or baker’s flour, about 12–13% protein) works for every style.
Plain flour is weaker and absorbs less water, so use a lower hydration. If you’re not sure, look for the protein percentage on the packet.
Use the exact type printed on the packet.
Which yeast do I have?
Instant dried yeast is often labelled “instant” or “bread maker” and can be mixed straight into the flour. Active dry yeast has larger granules and is usually dissolved in water first.
Fresh yeast is a soft, crumbly block sold chilled. Osmotolerant yeast says so on the packet and is made for sweet doughs.
Percentage of total flour
100% is equal flour and water
What does starter hydration mean?
It’s the water in your starter as a percentage of its flour. A 100% starter is equal weights of flour and water.
We subtract the starter’s flour and water from what you add, so the dough’s overall hydration stays the same. Use a ripe, active starter near its peak.
Ingredient ratios
Each one is a percentage of the total flour weight, known as baker’s percentages.
Dough left in the bowl and on your hands. 2% is typical.
What is hydration?
Water weight as a percentage of flour weight. For example, 630 g of water with 1,000 g of flour is 63% hydration.
Higher hydration gives a softer, more open crumb, but the dough is stickier to handle. Oil and sugar soften the crust and help it brown at lower temperatures.
Your timing
Same day or cold ferment, and when you’ll bake
Where the dough will rest
At room temperature
24–48 hours is typical
Most fridges sit at 3–5°C
At room temperature, after mixing
So cold dough can warm up
Why cold ferment?
Cold slows the yeast right down, so the dough can rest for a day or more. It develops more flavour, is easier to stretch, and gives you a wide window to bake.
Take the dough out a few hours before baking. Cold dough is stiff and tears when you stretch it.
When the first pizza goes in. We’ll work backwards from here.
Changes save automatically on this device.
Oven guidance
Is it ready?
Readiness checks and troubleshooting
Ready dough is noticeably larger and airy, stretches without fighting back, and a gentle fingertip press springs back slowly. Go by the dough, not the clock.
My dough isn’t rising
Check where it’s resting, because a cooler spot slows everything down. Keep it covered and give it more time. Check your yeast’s use-by date or your starter’s activity. Don’t knead in extra yeast once the dough is mixed.
My dough is too sticky
Rest it for 15–20 minutes, then handle it with lightly floured hands and a bench scraper. Next time, try a hydration 2–3% lower.
The dough tears when I stretch it
If it feels tight and springs back, cover it and rest for 15–20 minutes before trying again. If it feels slack and fragile, it may be overproofed, so bake it sooner next time.
My cold dough barely rose in the fridge
That’s normal. Most of the rise happens while it warms up, so give it the full time out of the fridge. If it still hasn’t moved, check the fridge isn’t colder than 2°C.
My cold dough looks over-proofed
Large bubbles, dough that spreads and won’t hold a ball, or a sour or boozy smell mean it’s gone too far. Bake it soon and handle it gently. Next time, use a shorter fridge time or a colder shelf.
The dough is stuck to the container
Flour the top, run a floured scraper around the edge and tip it out onto a floured bench. Oil the containers lightly next time.
My pizza burns
If the base burns first, let the stone cool a little or launch away from the flame. If the top burns first, lower the flame just before launching and turn the pizza more often. Fewer wet toppings help too.
My pizza is pale and underbaked
Preheat the stone or steel for the full time and bake on a high shelf. A steel transfers heat faster than a stone. In a kitchen oven, a little oil and sugar in the dough helps browning.