Pizza dough hydration: what % for your flour and oven
For a pizzeria, run 55–62 % hydration for Neapolitan-style dough in an oven above 400 °C, and 60–65 % in a gas or electric deck oven at 300–350 °C. The 70–80 % doughs all over Instagram belong to teglia, pala and home ovens. Pick your number from the flour's strength and how long the dough matures, not from a crumb shot.
What is dough hydration, and how do you work it out?
Hydration is a baker's percentage: water weight ÷ flour weight × 100. 600 g of water to 1 kg of flour is 60 %; 650 g is 65 %. Flour is always the 100, never the total dough weight. So "how much water per kilo of flour" is the same question: 600 ml (600 g) for 60 %.
- Weigh the water. A measuring jug is easily 20 ml out, which is 2 points of hydration on a kilo. Weigh everything, water included.
- Oil is not counted in the percentage, but 25–30 g per kilo makes dough feel softer and wetter. Keep it fixed while you adjust water.
- Salt (20–25 g/kg) tightens gluten: an under-salted dough feels stickier at the same hydration.
What hydration should you use for your flour?
British bakers tend to think in "strong white bread flour" (roughly 12.5–13.5 % protein). Italian pizza flours are sold by W, a lab measure of gluten strength from the Chopin alveograph: the higher the W, the more water the flour absorbs and the longer it can mature. A UK strong flour is very roughly comparable to a W 280–320 Italian flour.
| Flour strength (W) | Protein | Maturation | Hydration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180–220 | 10–11 % | 8–12 h | 55–58 % |
| 240–280 | 11.5–12.5 % | 24–48 h | 58–62 % |
| 280–320 | 12.5–13 % | 48–72 h | 60–64 % |
| 320–380+ | 13–14 % | 72 h+ or biga | 62–68 % |
| Teglia / pala (trays, long bakes) | Strong flours | 24–72 h | 70–80 % |
Working ranges from professional practice. Expect to adjust 1–2 points per flour batch.
For reference points: the Neapolitan pizza TSG specification (EU Regulation 97/2010) sets 1 litre of water to about 1.8 kg of W 220–380 flour, which works out at around 56 %. The AVPN rules allow 1.6–1.8 kg per litre, so 55–62 %. Caputo Pizzeria (the blue bag) is sold at around 12.5 % protein and W 260–270; Caputo Cuoco (red) at 13 % and W 300–320, which is why the red bag suits 48–72 h doughs at 60–63 %.
A note on "00": it is an Italian milling grade (ash content), not a strength. A 00 can be W 180 or W 350. Read the W on the spec sheet. And if you buy British flour, from December 2026 non-wholemeal wheat flour milled in the UK must also carry added folic acid. That changes nothing for hydration, but if you import Italian flour it is worth asking your supplier how the rules apply to what they sell you.
Scale a 60 % batch in the dough calculator
Why professionals stay near 60 %
The peel
Wet dough sticks to the peel, stretches as you launch it and lands oval. On a French pizzaiolo forum, one baker who could no longer launch cleanly fixed it by dropping from 65–75 % to 55–60 %. Neapolitan competitors commonly work at 57.5–59.5 %.
Stretching speed
On a Friday rush you have 30–40 seconds per base. Slack dough needs more bench flour, tears if you rush it and slows the whole line.
Oven and bake time
At 450 °C for 60–90 seconds, the dough loses little water, so 58 % stays soft. Most UK takeaways run gas or electric decks at 300–350 °C and bake 12" and 14" pizzas for 4–6 minutes. A 56 % dough dries into a cracker over that time, which is where 60–65 % earns its place.
Consistency across staff
A forgiving dough is one any member of the team can open without binning one base in five. On the nights you are not on the bench, that is what keeps the standard.
The same logic applies before service: knowing how many dough balls to pull from the proving boxes at 5 pm is far easier when a share of orders comes in online, spread across time slots, rather than all by phone at 7:30.
Changing flour without wrecking your dough
- One variable at a time. Change hydration, oil, flour blend and fridge setting together and you will never know which one fixed or broke it.
- Move 1–2 points per batch. The same flour from a new harvest can absorb differently, so a dough that drifts drier over months is normal.
- Hold back water. Keep 5–10 % of the water aside and add it at the end of mixing, once the gluten has formed. It is the safest way to go up 2 points.
- Dough temperature. Aim for 23–25 °C at the end of mixing. Wetter and warmer means faster fermentation. Check your fridge with a probe too: 3 °C instead of 1.5 °C is enough to over-ferment a 72-hour dough.
Hydration, mixing and rest work together
More water needs more gluten development. Mix to the windowpane stage (a thin, translucent stretch that does not tear): on a slow spiral mixer 7–8 minutes is often too short, so think 12–15. Give dough balls at least 4 hours after balling before you open them. If a batch is sticky, do two or three sets of folds 20 minutes apart rather than burying it in bench flour.
Sticky dough and pizzas stuck to the peel: causes and fixes
Common mistakes
- Copying a 75 % home-oven recipe into a commercial deck oven.
- Fixing slack dough with bench flour instead of fixing the recipe.
- Changing flour and hydration on the same day.
- Using Manitoba (W 350+) for a 24-hour dough: too tough and less digestible. It is built for long maturation or pre-ferments.
FAQ
What hydration should a pizzeria dough be?
58–62 % for most pizzerias. Go lower (55–58 %) with weaker flour and short fermentation, higher (62–65 %) with strong flour, 48–72 hours cold maturation or a longer deck-oven bake. Above 70 % is for trays and home ovens.
Is 70 % hydration better?
No. In skilled hands it gives a more open crumb, but it sticks to the peel, tears and slows stretching on a busy service. Neapolitan competition pizzaiolos typically work around 58–60 %.
Does 00 flour mean strong flour?
No. 00 is an Italian refinement grade (ash ≤ 0.55 %). Strength is the W value on the sack, and a 00 can be W 180 or W 350.
My dough feels drier with the same recipe. Why?
Flour changes between harvests and batches, and so does absorption. Add water one point at a time, and check dough temperature and fridge temperature before changing anything else.
Does oil count in hydration?
Not in the percentage, but 25–30 g of oil per kilo makes dough softer and more extensible. Keep it constant when you adjust the water.
Which flour to buy for a pizzeria
Neapolitan dough to the AVPN specification