DoughPlan

Pizza Dough Ball Weight by Pizza Size (in Grams)

By Josep Mampel Marques, updated

For a 12 inch (30 cm) pizza, use a dough ball of about 250 g. That is the weight in Ooni's classic recipe, which makes four 12 inch pizzas from 250 g balls, and it is the default in the DoughPlan planner. For 16 inch (40 cm) pizzas, Ooni uses 330 g balls in its classic dough and 380 g in its New York dough. King Arthur's Neapolitan-style recipe makes two 10 to 12 inch pizzas from about 200 g each. Thicker, chewier crusts use more dough for the same size; thin ones use less.

What published recipes use

Pizza dough ball weights from the recipes we cite, with the dough per square inch of pizza as our arithmetic (weight divided by the area of a circle of that diameter):

RecipeBall weightPizza sizeDough per square inch
Ooni classic, small250 g12 inch (30 cm)2.21 g
Ooni classic, large330 g16 inch (40 cm)1.64 g
Ooni New York380 g16 inch (40 cm)1.89 g
King Arthur Neapolitan-styleabout 200 g10 to 12 inch1.8 to 2.5 g
King Arthur New York-styleabout 300 g13 inch2.26 g

Most of them land between about 1.6 and 2.3 g of dough per square inch. The AVPN regulations for Neapolitan pizza allow dough balls of 200 to 280 g, which brackets most of the small sizes in the table.

Scale by area, not by diameter

A pizza twice as wide has four times the area, so it needs about four times the dough. Scaling by area from two published starting points gives:

Pizza sizeThicker (from 250 g at 12 inch)Thinner (from 330 g at 16 inch)
8 inch (20 cm)111 g83 g
10 inch (25 cm)174 g129 g
12 inch (30 cm)250 g186 g
14 inch (35 cm)340 g253 g
16 inch (40 cm)444 g330 g

The two columns are ends of a range, not rules. Pick the column that matches the crust you want, then adjust after your first bake. The New York-style guide has a similar table built on Ooni's 380 g ball and King Arthur's recipe.

How much flour for 2 to 8 pizzas

Once you know the ball weight, the planner works out the rest. These amounts use 250 g balls, the home oven Neapolitan preset (65% water, 2.8% salt) and a 2 day cold ferment at 0.089% instant dry yeast. They come from the DoughPlan engine and include 1.5% extra dough for what stays in the bowl.

Dough ballsTotal doughFlourWaterSaltInstant yeast
2507.5 g302.3 g196.5 g8.5 g0.27 g
3761.3 g453.4 g294.7 g12.7 g0.40 g
41,015 g604.6 g393.0 g16.9 g0.54 g
61,522.5 g906.8 g589.5 g25.4 g0.81 g
82,030 g1,209.1 g785.9 g33.9 g1.08 g

Change the ball weight and every figure scales with it. How the numbers connect is explained in baker's percentage for pizza dough.

Check your oven and peel first

A bigger ball makes a bigger pizza only if it fits. Home ovens, stones and Ooni-style ovens each have a maximum size, and the stretching skill needed grows with the diameter. Ooni lists its small and large recipes at 12 and 16 inches, which is why both exist. If you are baking in an Ooni, see best pizza dough for an Ooni. Pan pizzas follow different rules, because the pan sets the size; see Detroit-style pizza dough.

Frequently asked questions

How big a dough ball do I need for a 12 inch pizza?

About 250 g if you follow Ooni's classic recipe, and about 200 g if you follow King Arthur's Neapolitan-style recipe, which is aimed at 10 to 12 inches. The difference is crust thickness.

Does the ball weight include the extra 1.5%?

No. The planner multiplies the balls by their weight and then adds 1.5%, so you end up with the number and weight of balls you asked for. If you weigh the dough after mixing, expect about 1.5% more than balls times weight.

Do I need to weigh every ball?

Yes, if you want even pizzas. Divide the dough on the scale and nudge each piece to the target weight. Equal balls ferment and bake the same, and the yeast per ball stays consistent. Doughs that rest in individual containers also cool faster in the fridge, as the cold ferment guide explains.

Next steps

Sources