The answer takes two numbers: how much dough your flour makes, and how much dough each pizza needs. The first depends on the recipe; the second on the style and the size. Here’s the arithmetic for each of the Pizza Planner’s styles, using the same numbers the Planner uses.
Step 1: from flour to dough
Add up the recipe’s baker’s percentages and multiply by the flour. For a dough with 70% water, 3% salt and 0.3% yeast, the total is 100 + 70 + 3 + 0.3 = 173.3%, so 500 g of flour makes 500 × 1.733 = 866.5 g of dough.
| Style | Water, salt, yeast, oil | Total | Dough from 500 g flour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan-style, home oven | 70%, 3%, 0.3%, none | 173.3% | 866.5 g |
| Neapolitan-style, outdoor oven | 60%, 3%, 0.3%, none | 163.3% | 816.5 g |
| New York | 64%, 2.8%, 0.24%, none | 167.04% | 835.2 g |
| Roman tonda | 60%, 2%, 0.3%, 2.7% | 165% | 825 g |
| Detroit | 75%, 2.5%, 0.83%, 4.17% | 182.5% | 912.5 g |
| Sicilian-style | 73.5%, 2.2%, 0.3%, none | 176.04% | 880.2 g |
The yeast is the amount for each style’s usual schedule in the Planner; it changes the total by less than 1%.
Hydration matters less to the count than you might expect. Every extra point of water adds 5 g of dough to a 500 g batch, so going from 60% to 75% adds 75 g, not enough for another 12-inch pizza. Choose the water for the style and the oven, as the hydration guide explains, not for the yield.
Step 2: how much dough each pizza takes
The Planner sizes each pizza by area, so a style keeps the same thickness at any size. These are its weights per square inch, calculated from its presets:
| Style | Dough per square inch | 12-inch round | 14-inch round | Pan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan-style | 2.211 g | 250 g | 340 g | |
| New York | 2.404 g | 272 g | 370 g | |
| Roman tonda | 1.592 g | 180 g | 245 g | |
| Detroit | 5.615 g | 786 g for 10 × 14 in | ||
| Sicilian-style | 4.081 g | 955 g for 13 × 18 in |
A 12-inch round is 3.1416 × 6 × 6 = 113.1 square inches, so a 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizza takes 113.1 × 2.211 = 250 g. A 10 × 14-inch pan is 140 square inches, so a Detroit pizza takes 140 × 5.615 = 786 g. In metric, the Neapolitan-style figure is 0.343 g per square centimeter.
Step 3: divide
| Style | Dough | Each pizza | Pizzas from 500 g flour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan-style, home oven | 866.5 g | 250 g, 12-inch | 866.5 ÷ 250 = 3.5, so 3, with 116.5 g over |
| Neapolitan-style, outdoor oven | 816.5 g | 250 g, 12-inch | 816.5 ÷ 250 = 3.3, so 3, with 66.5 g over |
| New York | 835.2 g | 370 g, 14-inch | 835.2 ÷ 370 = 2.3, so 2, with 95 g over |
| New York | 835.2 g | 272 g, 12-inch | 835.2 ÷ 272 = 3.1, so 3, with 20 g over |
| Roman tonda | 825 g | 180 g, 12-inch | 825 ÷ 180 = 4.6, so 4, with 105 g over |
| Detroit | 912.5 g | 786 g, 10 × 14 pan | 912.5 ÷ 786 = 1.2, so 1 pan, with 126 g over |
| Detroit | 912.5 g | 449 g, 8 × 10 pan | 912.5 ÷ 449 = 2.0, so 2 pans, with 14 g over |
| Sicilian-style | 880.2 g | 955 g, 13 × 18 pan | 880.2 ÷ 955 = 0.92, so not quite 1 pan |
Rather than keeping the leftover, you can divide the dough evenly and make slightly bigger pizzas. Split the home-oven Neapolitan-style dough three ways and each 289 g ball makes a pizza about 12.9 inches across at the same thickness. Split it five ways and you get five 10-inch pizzas of 173 g. For a full 13 × 18-inch Sicilian-style pan, start from 542 g of flour instead.
So the familiar answer, two or three, holds: three 12-inch pizzas, or two 14-inch New York pizzas, from 500 g of flour.
What published recipes do
Published recipes land in the same place, though their ball weights vary with how thick they like the crust.
- Ken Forkish bases most of the doughs in The Elements of Pizza on 500 g of flour and says each makes three Neapolitan or New York pizzas for a home oven, or five thin-crust ones. In one recipe he notes that each of the three balls weighs about 275 g, against 210 to 220 g for the balls at La Notizia in Naples.
- Ooni’s classic dough uses 613 g flour, 368 g water, 18 g salt and 2.7 g instant yeast, about 60% water and 3% salt. That’s about 1,002 g of dough, which Ooni divides into four 250 g balls for 12-inch pizzas, the same as the Planner, or three 330 g balls for 16-inch pizzas, thinner than the Planner’s 444 g. Scaled to 500 g of flour, the same formula makes about 817 g of dough: three 250 g balls.
A heavier ball for the same size gives a thicker crust; a lighter one, a thinner pizza. The Planner’s bake times assume its standard thickness, so if you use heavier balls, check that the center is cooked through.
How many people that feeds
The Pizza Calculator’s starting assumption is that a regular adult eats three slices of a 14-inch pizza cut into eight, about half a 12-inch pizza. A light eater has two slices, a hungry one four, and a child one and a half. On that basis, three 12-inch pizzas from 500 g of flour feed five regular eaters or four hungry ones. Sides, ages and how much you want left over all move the number.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much dough do I need per pizza?
- It depends on the style and size. The Pizza Planner uses 250 g for a 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizza, 370 g for a 14-inch New York pizza (272 g at 12 inches), 180 g for a 12-inch Roman tonda, 786 g for a 10 × 14-inch Detroit pan and 955 g for a 13 × 18-inch Sicilian-style pan. Thinner styles use less dough for the same area, pan styles much more.
- How do I scale a pizza dough recipe up or down?
- Decide how much dough you need, then divide by the recipe's total baker's percentage to get the flour. Four 14-inch New York pizzas at 370 g need 1,480 g of dough; with 64% water, 2.8% salt and 0.24% yeast the total is 167.04%, so the flour is 1,480 ÷ 1.6704 = 886 g. Multiply the flour by each percentage for the rest.
- Does hydration affect how many pizzas I can make?
- Only a little. Each extra point of water adds 5 g of dough to a 500 g flour batch, so going from 60% to 75% adds 75 g, less than a third of a 12-inch pizza. Choose the hydration for the style and oven, not the yield.
- How many pizzas should I plan per person?
- The Pizza Calculator starts from three slices of a 14-inch pizza cut into eight for a regular adult, which is about half a 12-inch pizza. Light eaters have two slices, hungry ones four and children one and a half. Pan pizzas are more filling, so the Calculator counts a serving of pan pizza as 65% of the thin-crust area. Adjust for sides and leftovers.
- How much flour do I need for a pizza party?
- Work from the pizzas. For ten regular eaters, the Pizza Calculator suggests four 14-inch New York pizzas. At 370 g each that's 1,480 g of dough, which takes 886 g of bread flour. Then plan the oven: one home oven bakes one pizza at a time.
- Why do recipes disagree on how many pizzas 500 g of flour makes?
- Ball weight. Ken Forkish's 500 g batches make three regular dough balls of about 275 g or five thin-crust ones, while the Pizza Planner portions a 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizza at 250 g. The same dough makes more, thinner pizzas or fewer, thicker ones.
Sources
- Ken Forkish, The Elements of Pizza (2016), chapter 6: batch sizes (single dough ball note) and Enzo’s pizza dough (dough-ball weights).
- Ooni: Classic pizza dough recipe (ingredient weights and dough-ball weights by pizza size). Checked October 14, 2026.
- Weights per area, dough totals and appetite assumptions are calculated from the Pizza Planner’s and Pizza Calculator’s style presets.