Pizza Dough Hydration Chart
Hydration is the weight of water as a percentage of flour weight, and it is the number that most defines a pizza style's texture. A 60 percent dough and an 80 percent dough made from identical ingredients produce completely different pizzas. This chart lists working hydration ranges by style alongside the oven temperature each style expects.
Hydration by pizza style
Neapolitan: 58-65 percent. Counterintuitively lowish, because the dough needs enough structure to be stretched thin and handled at very high temperature. Baked at 430-480°C / 800-900°F for 60-90 seconds.
New York: 60-65 percent, usually with oil and sugar added. Produces a foldable slice with a chewier, sturdier crust. Baked at 260-290°C / 500-550°F for 8-12 minutes.
Roman al taglio (by the slice): 75-85 percent. Very high hydration gives the characteristic open, airy, almost focaccia-like crumb. Baked in a pan at 250-300°C / 480-570°F.
Detroit style: 70-75 percent, baked in an oiled steel pan that fries the base and creates the caramelised cheese edge. 260-290°C / 500-550°F.
Sicilian and pan pizza: 65-75 percent, thick and soft with a crisp fried base from oil in the pan.
Cast iron and home skillet pizza: 65-70 percent, forgiving and easy to handle for a first attempt.
What hydration actually changes
Higher hydration produces a more open, irregular crumb with larger air pockets, a lighter texture, and a crust that crisps more readily. It also makes the dough slacker, stickier, and considerably harder to shape by hand.
Lower hydration gives a tighter, more uniform crumb, a denser chew, and dough that is far easier to handle and stretch. This is why beginners are usually steered toward 60-65 percent regardless of the style they eventually want.
Calculating hydration
Hydration percentage is water weight divided by flour weight. For 1000g flour at 65 percent: 1000 x 0.65 = 650g water. Every other ingredient (salt, yeast, oil) is also expressed as a percentage of flour weight in this system, which is called baker's percentage.
If a recipe includes a preferment such as a poolish or sourdough starter, its flour and water both count toward the totals. A starter at 100 percent hydration contributes equal weights of each, so 200g of starter adds 100g flour and 100g water to your calculation.
Flour strength must match hydration
High-hydration doughs need strong, high-protein flour to hold their structure. Italian 00 flour for Neapolitan, bread flour for New York, and high-gluten flour for very wet Roman styles. Using all-purpose flour at 80 percent hydration produces a slack, soupy dough that will not develop enough gluten to hold gas.
Flour also absorbs water differently by type and even by brand, so the same stated hydration can feel noticeably different between two flours. Adjust by feel: add the last 5 percent of water gradually rather than dumping it all in, especially when switching flours.