Pizza Dough Worksheet
Scale from a ball you already like. Remember dough follows area - square the ratio of the diameters.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/pizza-dough-calculator
The batch
- Date
- Size you already make
- Ball weight that works
- Size you want
- SCALE FACTOR (squared)
- NEW BALL WEIGHT
- How many pizzas
- TOTAL DOUGH
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Yeast
Scaling by area - the ratios that matter
- 10 in → 12 in
- x 1.44
- 12 in → 14 in
- x 1.36
- 12 in → 16 in
- x 1.78
- 12 in → 18 in
- x 2.25
- 14 in → 16 in
- x 1.31
- 16 in → 12 in
- x 0.56
- The rule
- (new ÷ old) SQUARED
- ⚠ Scaling by diameter
- always short when sizing up
The arithmetic
- New ball
- old ball x (new ÷ old diameter)²
- Total dough
- ball weight x number of pizzas
- Flour
- total ÷ (1 + hydration + salt + yeast)
- Water
- flour x hydration
- Thickness factor
- ball weight ÷ area
- Area of a round pizza
- 3.14159 x radius²
- oz/in² from g/in²
- divide by 28.35
Bake log
| Date | Size | Ball weight | Hydration | Too thin / right / too thick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before you mix
- Scaled by AREA, not by diameter
- Starting weight is one you have actually made and liked
- Rectangular pan converted to an equivalent diameter
- A percent or two added for dough left on the bowl
- Salt and yeast calculated on FLOUR, not on total dough
- Salt kept out of direct contact with the yeast
- Yeast quantity matched to the ferment you actually plan
- Ball weight written down so the next batch can be compared
12 to 16 inches is 78% more dough
Not 33%. The diameter goes up by a third but the area goes up by a third SQUARED, which is 1.78. Scaling by diameter leaves you with about three quarters of what you need, and the base tears before it reaches the edge. Square the ratio, every time.
Compare thickness factors, not ball weights
A 300 g ball tells you nothing on its own - it is generous at 10 inches and thin at 16. Dough weight divided by area is the figure that means the same thing at every size, and it is the only fair way to ask whether someone else's base is thinner than yours.