Recipes
The recipes and the technique behind them, for restaurant kitchens and trucks alike.
Dough ball weight by pizza size: 10, 12, 14 and 16 inch
175 g for a 10", 255 g for a 12", 350 g for a 14": dough ball weights by pizza size, the formula for any diameter and 60×40 tray weights.
7 October 20265 min readPizza dough problems: sticky, tearing, spreading, pale crust
Sticky dough, pizza stuck to the peel, dough balls spreading in a 7 °C fridge: 10 symptoms, their causes and the one fix to try first.
7 October 20266 min readPizza dough hydration: what % for your flour and oven
58–62 % beats 70 % in a pizzeria: the right hydration for your flour strength, maturation time and deck oven, with a W-to-water table.
7 October 20266 min readNeapolitan vs Roman pizza: dough, oven and bake compared
Neapolitan bakes in 90 s at 450 °C, Roman tonda crisps in 3 min at 320 °C: dough, oil, oven, delivery and which style suits your pizzeria.
7 October 20265 min readPizza al taglio: Roman slice dough, 60x40 trays and lunch sales
1.4–1.6 kg of dough per 60x40 tray, 75–85% hydration, a two-step bake at 280 °C, and how hot vs cold slices change your VAT at a UK lunch counter.
7 October 20265 min readHow much yeast for pizza dough? Doses for 8 to 72 hours
Instant or fresh yeast per kg of flour for 8, 24, 48 and 72-hour proves, room or cold: one table, the conversions and the right dough temperature.
7 October 20266 min readBest cheese for pizza: mozzarella, cheddar blend or fior di latte
Which cheese suits your oven, 80/20 mozzarella–cheddar blends from about £4/kg, draining fior di latte and imitation cheese rules for UK takeaways.
7 October 20265 min readStoring pizza dough balls: fridge times, trays and freezing
Lidded trays, 3–4 °C, 24–72 hours depending on yeast, 1.5–4 h out before stretching, and when freezing is worth it: a dough ball protocol for UK kitchens.
7 October 20267 min readBest flour for pizza: 00 or strong white, and which W
00 vs UK strong white bread flour, the W strength for 24, 48 or 72-hour dough, malt for deck ovens and the folic acid change from 13 Dec 2026.
7 October 20266 min readPizza topping portions: how much cheese on a 12 inch pizza
Portion control chart from 10" to 16": grams of sauce, cheese, pepperoni and doner per size, the scaling rule, and why 20 g extra costs £1,750 a year.
7 October 20266 min readNeapolitan pizza dough: the AVPN proportions
The official specification, what it means as bakers' percentages, and what goes wrong without a 450 °C oven.
14 September 20268 min readPizza tomato sauce is not cooked
Crushed tinned tomatoes, salt, basil. Why cooking it first is the commonest reason a pizza tastes of tin, and how much to use per base.
14 September 20265 min readDirect, poolish or biga: which to choose
What each method actually buys you, what it costs in planning, and how to decide from the problem you have rather than the fashion.
14 September 20267 min readGluten-free pizza dough for a pizzeria
A working recipe at 85% hydration, why there is no kneading, and the cross-contamination question you must answer before offering it.
14 September 20267 min readWood-fired or electric: what actually changes
Floor temperature, recovery under load, and the honest answer about how much of the flavour is really the wood.
14 September 20267 min readManaging dough on a pizza van
Lower hydration, 48-hour cold maturation and how to load for a day you cannot predict — plus the fridge problem nobody mentions.
14 September 20266 min read