Sourdough Pizza Dough Calculator [for Pizza and Bread]

Take the guesswork out of natural fermentation with PizzaBlab’s sourdough calculator. Unlike basic sourdough calculators, PizzaBlab’s calculator uses a dynamic starter prediction model to determine the exact amount of starter/levain needed, based on your ambient temperature and desired fermentation time. It accounts for every variable, including the flour and water “hidden” inside your starter, giving you total control over your dough, for both pizza and artisan bread

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Usage Guide & Tips

Getting Started

• Beyond Pizza:
  PizzaBlab’s sourdough calculation works for ANY sourdough-based baked goods, not just pizza.
• General Features:
  For a breakdown of the basic calculator functions, refer to the PizzaBlab’s pizza dough calculator guide. While written for the yeast-based dough calculator, the core features work exactly the same here.
• Total Hydration Accounting:
  The calculator automatically accounts for the flour and water in your starter. For example, if your starter is 100g water and 100g flour, those amounts are added to the total dough weight and hydration to ensure accuracy.
• Levain vs. Starter:
  Your levain is a fresh preferment built specifically for this bake – a mixture of flour, water, and a small amount of your existing sourdough starter, left to ripen before mixing into the final dough. Your starter is your ongoing live sourdough culture – the small amount you take from it “seeds” the levain.
  The “% Starter in Levain” field tells the calculator how much of your starter goes into building the levain.
• % Starter in Levain:
  The amount of mature starter used to ‘seed’/build your levain, expressed as a percentage of the flour in the levain.
  This mirrors your feeding ratio, for example: a 1:5:5 ratio (1 part starter : 5 parts flour : 5 parts water) equals 20%, while a 1:10:10 ratio equals 10%.
  The default is 20%; adjust this to match your regular feeding routine for the most accurate prediction.
• Starter Hydration:
  The calculator assumes a 100% hydration starter (equal parts flour and water) by default. You can change this by clicking the ‘Starter Hydration’ button.
• Troubleshooting “0” Values:
  If your results show “0,” double-check that all basic data (ball weight, number of balls, thickness factor, etc.) has been entered.
• Thickness Factor:
  Learn what the Thickness Factor is and how to use it.

Fermentation & Temperature

• Room Temperature Recommended:
  For sourdough, I do not recommend cold fermentation. For the best flavor development and dough structure, I highly suggest fermenting at room temperature. Please note that the predictive model in this calculator is primarily designed for room temperature fermentation.
• Predictive Starter Model:
  Simply enter your desired fermentation time and temperature, and the calculator will provide the required starter amount (%). You can also manually type in a percentage if you prefer to use a specific ratio.
• Starter Activity Note:
  The required starter quantity is highly dependent on how active your specific sourdough starter is, directly affecting the rate of fermentation. Depending on your starter, you may need slightly more or less than the calculation suggests. That said, the calculator provides an excellent, highly accurate starting point.

Logic and predictive model for starter quantity provided by Craig Lindberg (TXCraig1) from pizzamaking.com forum.

I’m Yuval, A Pizzologist

After a decade of hands-on baking and obsessive research, I created PizzaBlab – the resource I wish I had when I started. My mission is to strip away the guesswork and replace it with the science of pizza-making.

Whether you’re here for the math of a dough calculator or the chemistry of fermentation, I’m here to help you bake the perfect pizza – every single time.