Pizza dough for 2 pizzas
Two pizzas is the smallest batch most people make — dinner for two, or a test run before a party. Small batches are where measuring by percentage pays off, because a pinch of yeast too many matters.
Formula baker's % of total flour
Batch size
Preferment
Water temperature
Use water at 70°F
73 × 3 − (70 + 72 + 7) = 70
Your recipe
| Ingredient | Baker's % | Total formula | Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 flour | 100% | 303 g | 303 g |
| Water | 62% | 188 g | 188 g |
| Salt | 2.8% | 8.5 g | 8.5 g |
| Fresh yeast | 0.15% | 0.5 g | 0.5 g |
| Total | 164.95% | 500 g | 500 g |
2 Neapolitan pizzas (250 g): 303 g flour, 188 g water · 2 New York pies (340 g): 404 g flour, 254 g water
Neapolitan dough for 2 pizzas
00 flour, 62% water, 2.8% salt and 0.15% fresh yeast (0.05% instant) for an 8–10 hour room-temperature dough. Full Neapolitan method →
| Ingredient | Baker's % | 230 g · 10 in | 250 g · 11–12 in | 280 g · 12–13 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 flour | 100% | 279 g | 303 g | 339 g |
| Water | 62% | 173 g | 188 g | 210 g |
| Salt | 2.8% | 7.8 g | 8.5 g | 9.5 g |
| Fresh yeast | 0.15% | 0.4 g | 0.5 g | 0.5 g |
| Total | 164.95% | 460 g | 500 g | 560 g |
New York-style dough for 2 pizzas
Bread flour, 63% water, 2% salt, 0.5% instant yeast, 2% olive oil and 1% sugar for a 24–72 hour cold ferment. Full NY method →
| Ingredient | Baker's % | 280 g · 12 in | 340 g · 14 in | 450 g · 16 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 100% | 332 g | 404 g | 534 g |
| Water | 63% | 209 g | 254 g | 336 g |
| Salt | 2% | 6.6 g | 8.1 g | 11 g |
| Instant yeast | 0.5% | 1.7 g | 2.0 g | 2.7 g |
| Olive oil | 2% | 6.6 g | 8.1 g | 11 g |
| Sugar | 1% | 3.3 g | 4.0 g | 5.3 g |
| Total | 168.5% | 560 g | 680 g | 900 g |
Planning 2 pizzas
Two 250 g Neapolitan balls need only about 300 g of flour, which is small enough to knead by hand in a bowl in 10 minutes. The yeast is the tricky part: 0.15% fresh yeast of 300 g flour is 0.45 g, and in instant yeast it is 0.15 g — less than the smallest step on most kitchen scales. Weigh 1 g of instant yeast into 100 g of the recipe water, stir and use 15 g of that water (and 85 g less plain water) for an accurate dose.
A small dough also cools and warms faster than a big one. It will follow the room temperature closely, so in a warm kitchen a two-ball dough can be ready an hour or two earlier than the same formula made for eight.
Making two NY-style pies? The 340 g ball for 14 inches is the home-oven favorite: two of them fit one steel bake after another, and with a 1-hour preheat and 5 minutes of recovery between pies the whole bake takes under 25 minutes.
| Oven | Per pizza | Baking 2 pizzas |
|---|---|---|
| Pizza oven, 800–900°F (430–480°C) | 60–90 s + 2 min to stretch and top | about 7 min |
| Home oven + steel, 500–550°F (260–290°C) | 7–9 min + 3–5 min recovery | about 24 min after a 1 h preheat |
Other batch sizes: 3 pizzas · 4 pizzas · 6 pizzas · ball weight chart. Prefer a preferment? Try a poolish or biga pizza dough.
FAQ
How much flour do I need for 2 pizzas?
About 300 g for two 250 g Neapolitan balls (62% hydration), or about 405 g for two 340 g New York balls.
How do I weigh yeast for a small pizza dough?
Dissolve 1 g of instant yeast in 100 g of water and use the fraction you need: 15 g of that solution holds 0.15 g of yeast. Reduce the plain water by the same 15 g.
What hydration should pizza dough be?
Neapolitan dough is usually 58–65% water (62% here) and New York style 60–65% (63% here). Higher hydration stretches thinner but is stickier to handle.