Pizza Calculator
Precision engineered for Big Horn Outdoors® Ovens
Precision ingredients are only half the battle. Learn how to mix, ball, and stretch your dough to perfection with our official guide.
Read The Full GuideMastering the Flame: The Science Behind the Perfect Dough
Making pizza in a backyard environment is a different beast than baking in a kitchen oven. When you are dealing with the intense, 900°F+ heat of a Big Horn Outdoors® Pizza Oven, standard recipes simply don't hold up. That is why we built this calculator. It removes the guesswork, giving you the precise ratios needed to achieve that coveted leopard-spotted crust without burning your base.
Why Hydration Matters
You will notice the "Hydration" slider in the tool above. This is the ratio of water to flour, and it is the single most critical factor in outdoor baking. A standard home oven recipe might call for 70% hydration, but in a high-heat pellet or gas oven, that much water can make the dough difficult to launch from the peel.
For our ovens, we recommend the "Goldilocks Zone" of 60% to 62% hydration. This creates a dough that is easy to handle and slide, yet moist enough to puff up instantly when it hits the hot stone. If you are feeling adventurous, pushing it to 65% will give you a lighter, airier cornicione (crust rim), but requires a skilled hand and a good amount of semolina flour.
The "00" Difference
Our calculator defaults to "00" flour for a reason. This finely ground Italian-style flour has the perfect protein content to stretch extremely thin without tearing. While you can use All-Purpose flour for a New York style dough, true Neapolitan pizza demands the elasticity and heat resistance of "00". When combined with our specific salt and yeast ratios, you get a flavor profile that rivals the best pizzerias in Naples.
From Calculator to Oven
Once you have your numbers from the blueprint above, the real fun begins. The process of mixing, bulk fermenting, and balling your dough is an art form. We have documented our exact process—tested over thousands of pizzas—in our Signature Pizza Dough Recipe. It walks you through the timing of the rise and the technique of the stretch, ensuring that the numbers you see here translate into the perfect meal in your backyard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baker's Percentage allows you to scale recipes perfectly. Flour is always 100%, and other ingredients are calculated as a percentage of the flour weight. This ensures your dough consistency remains perfect whether you make 1 pizza or 100.
For pellet and gas ovens reaching 900°F, we recommend 60-62% hydration. This creates a crispy crust that doesn't burn instantly. Higher hydration (65%+) is harder to handle but produces a puffier cornicione (crust rim).
If your hydration is above 65%, the dough will naturally be sticky. Use a generous amount of semolina flour on your peel, or upgrade to a Stainless Steel Pizza Peel which offers better slide than wood.
You can, but for the authentic Neapolitan texture, we highly recommend '00' Flour. It is finely ground and has the right protein content to withstand the high heat of Big Horn® outdoor ovens.
Same Day dough uses more yeast (1.5%) to rise quickly in 1-2 hours. Slow Ferment uses less yeast (0.5%) and sits in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Slow fermentation develops much deeper, more complex flavors and better digestibility.