Poolish Pizza Dough Calculator

Set the share of total flour in Poolish. Its water comes from the recipe total; the preferment does not prescribe a pizza style or bake temperature.

Full recipe controls · All tools

Interactive Formulation

Calculate your dough

Set the share of total flour in Poolish. Its water comes from the recipe total; the preferment does not prescribe a pizza style or bake temperature.

1

Batch Size & Dough Ball Weight

Choose how many pizzas and how large each dough ball is

Calculation Mode

Target pizza diameter (inches)

Area-based thickness assumption

Calculate portion weight from diameter and thickness

Style factors are planning examples. Entering a manual weight disables area sizing. Use a custom or reverse-calculated factor.

Number of Pizzas / Balls

Weight per Ball (g)

Example portion sizes:

2

Hydration (Water Content)

Controls dough stickiness, extensibility, and open crumb texture

Water % (of Flour)

62%Standard

50% Stiff62% Neapolitan72% Detroit / Pan85%+ Slack

3

Fermentation Schedule & Yeast

Estimate yeast for a schedule, then check dough readiness

Fermentation Schedule Preset

Yeast Type

Yeast Percentage %0.15%

Lower doseEditable percentageHigher dose

⚙️

Advanced Baker Settings

Salt %, Pre-ferments (Poolish/Biga), Fats, Sugars, Custom Timers & DDT

Fine Sea Salt %3.0%

1.5% Mild2.5% Standard3.0% AVPN-Informed4.0% High

Pre-Ferment (Poolish · Biga · Sourdough)

Poolish Flour % (Share of total flour)20%

10% Subtle20% Standard50% Intense

100% hydration (equal parts flour & water by weight) + pinch of yeast, fermented 10–16h at room temp.

Custom Proofing Time & Ambient Temperature

Room Temp Proof (Hours)

Room Ambient Temp (°C)

Cold Ferment (Fridge 4°C Hours)

House planning estimate: time, room temperature and yeast type. Actual fermentation also depends on flour, salt, dough cooling and yeast condition. See the methodology for assumptions.

Secondary Fats & Additives

Extra Virgin Olive Oil / Fat %0%

0% Neapolitan2–3% NY / Detroit18% Chicago Deep

Sugar / Honey %0%

0% (None)1.5% (NY Browning)4% (Sweet)

Diastatic Malt Powder %0%

0%0.5% (Home oven browning)1.5%

OUTPUT · TOTAL DOUGH BATCH

1000 g

Balls

4

Per Ball

250 g

🌡️ 4h Room Temp (21°C)

FlourWaterSaltYeastOilSugar

Ingredient Measurements

Total flour and water include preferment contributions. Starter is a subset of these totals; do not add it twice.

Baker's %

IngredientWeight (g)Baker's %

Flour605.5 g100%

Water375.4 g62%

Fine Sea Salt18.2 g3.0%

Instant Dry Yeast (IDY)0.91 g0.15%

Olive Oil / Fat0 g0%

Sugar / Honey0 g0%

Diastatic Malt0 g0%

Poolish (20% flour)

Preferment ingredients are included in the total recipe. Yeast allocation is a house planning assumption, not a maturity guarantee.

Mix 1 — Preferment

Flour in preferment121.1 g20.0% of flour

Water in preferment121.1 g100.0% hydr.

Yeast in Preferment0.12 gpreferment yeast

Sourdough Starter0 g15% inoc.

Total Preferment242.3 g

Final dough — ingredients to add

Remaining Flour484.4 gsubtracted

Remaining Water254.3 gsubtracted

Fine Sea Salt18.2 g

Remaining Yeast0.79 g

Olive Oil0 g

Sugar / Honey0 g

Diastatic Malt0 g

+ All Preferment (Mix 1)242.3 g

Bake context

Choose bake conditions for your pizza style and oven; preferments do not set a bake temperature.

Flour Recommendation

Check the flour’s specifications; AVPN 2024 lists W250–320 for its flour context

20% means prefermented flour

For 1,000 g total flour, 20% allocation means 200 g Poolish flour and 200 g Poolish water. At 65% final hydration, add 800 g fresh flour and 450 g fresh water later. Salt and yeast are included separately in a full recipe.

Do not exceed the available water

A 100%-hydration Poolish cannot contain more water than the complete recipe. If allocation exceeds the final hydration percentage, revise an input. The interface reports that a capped legacy allocation no longer meets the requested preferment hydration.

Maturity and yeast dose are process choices

The inherited split uses up to 0.1% IDY of preferment flour, capped by the total yeast entered. This is visible planning guidance, not a maturity guarantee. Follow a complete recipe and use the preferment when its observed condition is suitable.

Sources and scope

King Arthur Baking: PrefermentPoolish, stiff preferments and maturity cues.
King Arthur Baking: Baker’s PercentageFlour-based ingredient percentages.

Worked calculations and planning examples are this site’s illustrations. A source’s product or recipe guidance is not a universal pizza standard.

Keep planning your dough

Poolish vs Biga for Pizza Dough: Choose a Mixing Workflow

Compare liquid Poolish and stiff Biga, separate their hydration from flour allocation, and choose a preferment by practical handling rather than superiority claims.

How Much Poolish for Pizza Dough? Allocate the Flour First

Calculate Poolish as a share of total flour, subtract its water correctly, and avoid an impossible 100%-hydration preferment allocation.

Cold Fermenting Pizza Dough: Plan the Whole Schedule

Build a refrigerated dough workflow around mixing, cooling, cold storage and final proof, with honest yeast estimates and readiness checks.

Pizza Dough Hydration Chart: Compare Water Ratios

Read hydration as water divided by all flour, compare practical trial ratios, and account for preferment water without confusing hydration with dough moisture.

Browse all guides · Calculation methods and assumptions · Open the master dough calculator