🍕 Sourdough Pizza Dough Calculator
Calculate exact flour, water, starter & salt using baker's percentages
| Pizza Style | Diameter | Ball Weight (g) | Ball Weight (oz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal / Mini | 7–8 in (18–20 cm) | 160–200g | 5.6–7 oz |
| Small | 9–10 in (23–25 cm) | 200–230g | 7–8.1 oz |
| Medium (Neapolitan) | 11–12 in (28–30 cm) | 240–270g | 8.5–9.5 oz |
| Large (NY Style) | 13–14 in (33–35 cm) | 280–320g | 9.9–11.3 oz |
| Extra Large | 16–18 in (40–46 cm) | 350–450g | 12.3–15.9 oz |
| Detroit / Pan (10x14) | 10–14 in pan | 500–700g | 17.6–24.7 oz |
| Style | Hydration % | Texture | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin & Crispy | 58–63% | Firm, cracker-like | Easy |
| New York Style | 62–67% | Chewy, foldable | Easy–Medium |
| Neapolitan | 65–70% | Open crumb, soft | Medium |
| Artisan / Roman | 70–75% | Airy, blistered | Medium–Hard |
| Pan / Focaccia | 75–85% | Fluffy, thick | Easy (pan) |
| Starter % | Room Temp Rise | Fridge Ferment | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–8% | 8–12 hrs | 48–72 hrs | Slow, complex flavor |
| 10–15% | 5–8 hrs | 24–48 hrs | Balanced flavor & timing |
| 15–20% | 3–5 hrs | 12–24 hrs | Same-day baking |
| 20–25% | 2–4 hrs | 8–12 hrs | Quick rise, milder tang |
| Ingredient | Typical Range | Classic Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flour | 100% (always) | 100% | Base ingredient |
| Water (hydration) | 58–85% | 65% | Affects texture & elasticity |
| Sourdough Starter | 5–25% | 15% | Active starter at peak |
| Salt | 2–3% | 2.5% | Flavor & gluten strength |
| Olive Oil | 0–5% | 0–2% | Optional, adds softness |
| Sugar / Honey | 0–3% | 0% | Optional, feeds starter |
The bitter Sourdough dough gives something special. The crust is crisp and chewy at the same time, with those nice burned marks on both sides. Also it handles mistakes well.
One can lay on it all toppings that please, and it will cook well always even without a pizza stone beside you. When you use the alive starter correctly, you receive a golden, crispy base with that spiral, airy structure of bread that truly urges folks to eat the pizza crust.
How to Make Sourdough Pizza Dough
Alive starter is simply that, that received food in the last four to twelve hours and bubbles actively. The secret happens when you seize it during maximum bubbling, that helps you reach the biggest rise from your dough. One can swap bitter starter by means of store-bought yeast in pizza dough, but you need to experiment with rising and resting times so that it works well.
For good texture in a home oven depend on three main spots: high-moisture dough (so around 75 percent), slow rising that lasts long and gentle handling of the dough. For flour, I did well mixing around 75 percent of Type 00 flour with 25 percent of something more tasty, whole wheat works surprisingly. Even so, if you want extra chew and crispness, mix almost equally Type 00 with high-protein bread flour, that is the good idea.
Type 00 gives more crispy edges, that stretches easily without resistance, and the whole dough simply feels more excellent.
When you ended kneading the dough, form it in a globe and lay it with sewn side up in a bowl covered by means of a light coat of olive oil. After around twenty minutes, do a series of stretches and folds to strengthen it. Then allow it to rise big…
It almost will double in size, which happens in around four hours. Share it in globes of about 225 to 235 grams each and form them round.
This dough is very flexible, truly. Want more thick crust? Leave the globes heavy and do not stretch them too much.
Want something thin and crispy? Stretch it more thin and keep it flat in the oven some minutes. Smaller globes between 200 and 250 grams work perfectly for pies of ten too twelve inches.
You will need a pizza stone or steel for the best results, the warmer the oven heat, the more good. Here what helped me: cook the dough with only tomato sauce during most of the time, later add the other toppings some minutes before finish. If you cook at 500 degrees and later give fast broiling for around one minute, you will receive better browning and the toppings will brown well.
Onions, fennel, peppers, pineapple, everything receives that nice color.
Sourdough truly shines in pizza dough, giving you chewy, deep tasting crust. Leave it prove in heat during ten to twelve hours, later cold proof in the fridge two to three days and it becomes even better. Because of freezing, between 450 and 500 grams of dough work for one thick medium pie, simply lay it in a freezerbag or sealed container.
