The baker's percentage method
In bread and pizza making, every ingredient is measured against the flour weight, which is always 100%. To work out the recipe from a total dough weight we reverse that:
total dough = pizzas × ball weight
flour = total ÷ ( 1 + hyd% + salt% + yeast% )
water = flour × hyd% salt = flour × salt% yeast = flour × yeast%
The percentages are entered as numbers (65 means 0.65 in the math). Flour is solved first because everything else is defined relative to it.
Worked example
Four 250 g balls at 65% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.3% yeast:
Total dough: 4 × 250 = 1,000 g.
Flour: 1,000 ÷ (1 + 0.65 + 0.025 + 0.003) ≈ 596 g.
Water: 596 × 0.65 ≈ 387 g · Salt: ≈ 15 g · Yeast: ≈ 1.8 g.
Tip: for a long cold ferment (24–72 h in the fridge) drop the yeast toward 0.1–0.2% so the dough does not over-proof. Higher hydration needs more careful handling and a well-floured surface.
Choosing your hydration
Hydration shapes the crust. Around 58–62% is forgiving for a home oven and rolling pin; 65–70% gives the airy, blistered Neapolitan crumb when baked very hot; above 70% the dough grows open and light but becomes sticky and demands a deft hand. Start moderate and increase as your technique improves.