When it comes to mastering the art of making pizza dough, hydration is a key factor for quality pies. Hydration refers to the amount of water used in a recipe in relation to the amount of flour and is usually referred to as a percentage. For example, using a recipe that calls for 1000 grams of flour and 600 grams of water would result in pizza dough with 60% hydration. So, why care about hydration at all?
The hydration percentage will have major effects on the resulting dough and crust—so different pizza styles have different hydration needs. For example, Detroit-style pizza has a fairly high moisture content between 70 to 80%, while Neapolitan-style generally sits at around the 60 to 65% mark. In addition to making your crust lighter, increasing the hydration produces a higher yield (more dough).
Depending on what you’re looking to get from your final dough, there are benefits to be had in all types of dough hydrations. We’ve taken some of the guesswork out of whether you should go for a lower to higher hydration dough so you can feel more confident in your pies.
Low-hydration dough—50–57%:
This hydration is pretty common in dough styles not typically associated with pizza like focaccia, ciabatta and brioche bread. However, some Sicilian-style doughs do tend to utilize low hydration.
Characteristics of low-hydration dough:
- Slightly denser bread
- Moist, chewy crumb
- Firm enough to hold its toppings
Recipe to try: NEPA Pan-fried Sicilian Pizza
Lower-hydration dough—60%:
This is the most common percentage in accessible recipes for beginners because the lower hydration makes the dough easier to work with.
Characteristics of lower-hydration dough:
- Easier to handle
- Firmer dough so it holds its shape
- Not sticky
- Requires more work when stretching your base
- Crispier crust when baked
Recipes to try: Sicilian Pizza, Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
Medium-hydration dough—65%:
The higher dough hydration here means it will be slightly tacky and a little more difficult to work with. As you continue to increase the hydration, more practice will be required to handle the dough with ease.
Characteristics of medium-hydration dough:
- Relatively firm and dry dough
- Requires more kneading
- Requires more time for stretching your base
- Tighter crumb structure
- Less flavor than higher-hydration doughs
Recipes to try: Neapolitan Pizza, New York-style Pizza, Detroit-style Pizza
Higher-hydration dough—70%:
This dough will be stretchy, sticky and you’ll have to be very quick when it comes to balling it up. However, the result will be a pizza with a beautifully light, soft crust.
Characteristics of higher-hydration dough:
- Lightness
- Sticky and loose, making it trickier to shape and handle for beginners
- A stretchy dough that’s easy to stretch as long as you’re gentle
- A relaxed gluten structure that spreads easily
Baked high-hydration dough:
- Much lighter and softer than baked lower-hydration dough
- Open crumb structure (large, irregular internal holes)
- Crispy base
Recipe to try: Neo-Neapolitan Pizza
High-hydration dough—75% and above:
Super high-hydration doughs are increasingly popular among those celebrated by pizza makers and food writers. While daunting for beginners, it's definitely possible to achieve. If you're interested in experimenting with high-hydration doughs, consider progressively testing out 75%, 80%, then 90%. The more water you add, the higher the yield and the lighter the resulting dough.
Here are a few other tips:
- Make sure your work surface is well-floured and be prepared to use additional flour for dusting.
- Turn the bottom of any dough ball fresh from the proofing tray into the top of your pizza since the top will be drier, requiring less flour to launch it from your peel.
- Flip your proofing container to easily release the dough.
- Try stretching and baking in a pan for a less complicated launch.
Recipe to try: Gluten-free Pizza Dough, Sourdough Pizza Dough
We’ve got lots of tools to help you along the way, from our video on baker’s math and insight on how to keep a dough log, plus (almost) all you could ever want to know about salt! But at the end of the day, if something doesn't work in your pizza-making experimentations—try, try, try again.
FAQs
A hydration level of 60-70% is typically recommended for wood-fired pizza dough, often associated with Neapolitan-style pizzas. The higher hydration helps achieve a soft, airy, and slightly charred crust when exposed to the intense heat of a wood-fired oven.
What does 70% hydration mean in pizza dough? ›
Dough hydration refers to the amount of water relative to the amount of flour in the dough. For example, if a recipe calls for 100 grams of flour, adding 70 grams of water would make a dough with 70% hydration. Varying the levels of dough hydration directly affects the qualities of a finished crust.
What happens if pizza dough is too hydrated? ›
The higher dough hydration here means it will be slightly tacky and a little more difficult to work with. As you continue to increase the hydration, more practice will be required to handle the dough with ease. Characteristics of medium-hydration dough: Relatively firm and dry dough.
Is higher hydration pizza dough crispier? ›
The importance of pizza dough hydration
Higher hydration levels result in a softer, more extensible dough, ideal for a chewy and airy crust. Conversely, lower hydration levels produce a stiffer and crisper crust, often preferred for certain pizza styles.
How do you know if dough is hydrated enough? ›
Hydration is calculated by taking the weight of water or liquid in a recipe and dividing it by the weight of flour to get a percentage. Remember that hydration = water / flour. So in the recipe above, if water is 750g and flour is 1,000g, the total hydration of the dough is 750 / 1,000, or 75%.
What is the 55 rule for pizza? ›
A rule of thumb is the so-called “rule 55” that is the sum of the room, flour (by convention it equals room temperature) and water temperatures in degrees Celsius.
What hydration is New York pizza dough? ›
New York style pizza dough hydration
New York style pizza dough usually has a hydration level of around 65%. This is significantly more hydrated than Neapolitan pizza dough due to the longer baking time. Here is our New York Style Pizza recipe.
What hydration is Neapolitan pizza dough 65? ›
Authentic Pizza Napoletana is known for being very tender, light, and moist at the same time. It cooks for only 90 seconds in an 800F degree oven and needs 58-65% hydration. Its ingredients must be Italian and coming from a specific area such as Agro-Sarnese-Nocerino where San Marzano tomatoes are grown.
Should you add olive oil to pizza dough? ›
Improve the texture and boost the flavor of any homemade pizza by adding quality olive oil to the dough. Adding oil to your pizza dough makes it crispier once baked. The oil creates an impermeable layer that moisture, such as that present in tomato sauce, cannot easily penetrate.
Why is my homemade pizza dough dense? ›
The answer is excess flour. When you add too much flour to your dough, it can throw off the water-to-flour ratio, resulting in low hydration. Other than that, under/over proofing, over-kneading, and insufficient/dead yeast can also make your pizza dough dense and bready.
The hydration hydration depending on the style of pizza you make. For a New York Style Pizza, the dough hydration is 60-65%, whereas for a Neapolitan Style Pizza, the dough is at 55-65% hydration.
What makes pizza dough more chewy? ›
What makes dough chewy? The chew in dough comes from the flour used to prepare it. Bread flour contains higher protein content than all-purpose flour which gives pizza crust its chew.
What is the hydration of Italian pizza dough? ›
The hydration hydration depending on the style of pizza you make. For a New York Style Pizza, the dough hydration is 60-65%, whereas for a Neapolitan Style Pizza, the dough is at 55-65% hydration.
How hydrated should dough be? ›
High-hydration bread refers to loaves with a high ratio of water to flour, by weight. In baker's percentages, we're talking about doughs that are often in excess of 80% hydration.
What consistency should pizza dough be? ›
One of the tests bakers swear by is the windowpane test. To do this, break off a small piece of dough, pinch it between your fingers and gently stretch it. If it stretches into a paper-thin film without breaking, your dough is done and it's ready to be rolled out and put into the oven.
Lower-hydration dough—60%:
Higher-hydration dough—70%:
