Pizza dough guides
Short, practical explainers on the methods behind the calculator — how each preferment works, and the math that makes a recipe scale to any size.
Biga: the Italian stiff preferment
A stiff, slow preferment that gives Italian-style pizza its depth and airy crumb.
Read guide →Poolish: the liquid preferment
A liquid, equal-parts preferment that gives a light, open crumb and a gentle tang.
Read guide →Sourdough pizza: natural leavening
Leaven pizza with a natural starter for complexity, digestibility, and a blistered crust.
Read guide →Direct (same-day) pizza dough
The straight-dough method — everything mixed at once, no preferment required.
Read guide →Baker's percentages explained
The simple math that makes any dough recipe scale to any quantity.
Read guide →Pizza dough hydration
How much water is in your dough — and how it shapes the crust.
Read guide →Tipo 00 vs Tipo 0 flour
What the Italian flour grades mean — and which to use for pizza.
Read guide →Fresh vs instant vs active-dry yeast
The three commercial yeasts, how they differ, and how to convert between them.
Read guide →Neapolitan vs New York vs Roman dough
How the big pizza styles differ in flour, hydration, and bake.
Read guide →Cold ferment: how long and why
Why the fridge makes better pizza, and how to time it.
Read guide →Troubleshooting pizza dough
Fixes for the most common pizza-dough problems.
Read guide →Best flour & hydration for a home oven
Getting great pizza from a standard kitchen oven.
Read guide →