A classic Neapolitan pizza dough recipe in grams uses 1,600 to 1,800 g of flour, 40 to 60 g of salt and 0.1 to 3 g of fresh yeast for every 1 liter of water, according to the official rules of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). In home kitchen terms, that's about 56 to 62.5% water and roughly 2 to 4% salt compared with the flour.
| Ingredient | Home batch (3 pizzas) | Percent of flour |
|---|---|---|
| 00 pizza flour or bread flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Water | 300 g | 60% |
| Fine salt | 15 g | 3% |
| Dry yeast | 0.1 to 0.3 g | 0.02 to 0.06% |
| Total dough | about 815 g |
That batch makes 3 balls of about 270 g or 4 balls of about 200 g. The AVPN rules call for dough balls between 200 and 280 g, which make pizzas about 22 to 35 cm across.
How the percentages work
Pizza makers think in baker's percentages. Flour is always 100%, and everything else is a share of the flour. In the batch above, 300 g of water divided by 500 g of flour is 60%. Fifteen grams of salt is 3%.
This makes scaling simple. Want 4 pizzas at 250 g each? That's 1,000 g of dough. Add up the percentages (100 + 60 + 3 + a tiny bit of yeast is about 163%), then divide: 1,000 g divided by 1.63 is about 613 g of flour. From there, 60% water is 368 g and 3% salt is 18.4 g.
The batch also checks out against the AVPN numbers. Three hundred grams of water is 0.3 liter, and 500 g of flour for 0.3 liter matches about 1,667 g per liter, right in the 1,600 to 1,800 g range. The salt works out to 50 g per liter, in the middle of 40 to 60 g.
Why the yeast number is so small
Neapolitan dough rises slowly. The AVPN rules call for 12 to 24 hours of fermentation, ideally around 18 to 20 °C (64 to 68 °F). With that much time, a tiny amount of yeast does the job.
The rules list fresh yeast at 0.1 to 3 g per liter of water and say 1 g of dry yeast equals 3 g of fresh. For our 300 g of water, that's up to about 0.9 g of fresh yeast or about 0.3 g of dry yeast. If you use fresh yeast, swap in 0.3 to 0.9 g.
For a home oven version, King Arthur Baking takes a different route. Its Neapolitan style recipe on the 00 Pizza Flour bag uses 232 g of flour, 170 g of water and 1/8 tsp of yeast, which is about 0.4 g. That's a wetter dough, around 73% water, so don't be surprised if a home oven recipe looks different from the Naples rules.
Mixing a pizza dough recipe in grams, step by step
- Weigh the water into a bowl on a zeroed scale. Water is easiest by weight anyway: 300 g is 300 ml.
- Dissolve the salt in the water. Weigh it to the gram, since salt is easy to overdo.
- Add the yeast. At 0.1 to 0.3 g, this is the step where a 0.1 g display matters.
- Add the flour gradually and mix until no dry bits remain, then knead until smooth.
- Rest and divide. Weigh the full dough, then divide it by the number of pizzas. Weigh each ball so they all bake the same.
- Ferment covered for 12 to 24 hours before shaping.
Common mistakes
- Measuring flour in cups. King Arthur lists 00 pizza flour at 116 g per cup, but scooping can pack in more. Five hundred grams is roughly 4 1/3 cups, and a heavy scoop throws the water percentage off.
- Using a "pinch" of yeast. A pinch can be anything. Weigh it.
- Swapping salts by the spoon. Fifteen grams is under 1 tbsp of table salt but almost 2 tbsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Adding flour without weighing it. If the dough feels sticky, add flour in weighed amounts so you know your real hydration next time.
For the small stuff, a MeasureMate digital measuring spoon is handy. It scoops and weighs in one step, reads in 0.1 g steps for that tiny pinch of yeast, and handles up to 500 g, so you can weigh the salt and yeast right into the spoon after pressing tare.
Quick questions
What hydration is Neapolitan pizza dough?
The AVPN numbers work out to about 56 to 62.5% water by weight of flour. Many home oven recipes run wetter, like King Arthur's at around 73%.
How much dough do I need per pizza?
The AVPN range is 200 to 280 g per ball. A 250 g ball is a good middle choice for most home pizzas.
Can I use bread flour instead of 00 flour?
Yes. Flours absorb water differently, which is why the AVPN rules give a flour range, so you may need to adjust the water a little.
Weights based on the AVPN international regulations, King Arthur Baking's Neapolitan style pizza recipe, and the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart.