Guide

First pizza? Start here.

You don't need to know what hydration is to make a good pizza. The Lab starts from values that work: you choose how many pizzas and when you want to bake, and it handles the rest. Here's the bare minimum to understand what you're doing.

Open the Pizza Lab

Practical guides

Choosing flour

Types, strength and hydration made clear

Read the guide

Understanding yeast

Quantity, temperature and fermentation time

Read the guide

Baking in your oven

Home, gas and wood: heat and observation

Read the guide

The Lab in three steps

Pick a style and how many pizzas
The first time, leave it on Napoletana with the suggested values: they're the most reliable starting point. The advanced settings will still be there when you need them.
Decide when you want to bake
Choose a Pizza Flow (Direct 24h works almost every time) and the time you want the pizzas out of the oven. The Lab works out how much yeast you need for that time and temperature.
Follow the plan
You get gram-accurate quantities and a time for every step, from mixing to baking. All you have to do is weigh carefully and keep to the timings.

Words you'll come across

Nine terms and you're set. Next to each one, the value to start from.

Hydration: How much water you add relative to the flour. With 1 kg of flour and 620 g of water you're at 62%. More water means a softer, airier pizza, but a stickier dough to handle.; To start: 60–65%
Yeast: Makes the dough rise. The more time you give it, the less you need: a 24-hour rise only takes a few grams. The Lab works it out from hours and temperature; you just need to weigh it properly.; To start: 1 g dried ≈ 3 g fresh
Salt: Adds flavour and makes the dough stronger. It's measured against the flour weight, like every other ingredient.; To start: 2.5–3% of the flour
Bulk rise: The first rise, with all the dough in one piece in the bowl. It builds strength before you divide it.; To start: 1–2 hours at room temperature
Cold rise: The dough rests in the fridge for many hours. It develops flavour, makes the pizza easier to digest and lets you mix the day before.; To start: 12–24 hours at about 4 °C
Dividing and balling: When you split the dough into balls, one per pizza, and shape each one round and taut.; To start: 250 g balls for a Neapolitan
Final proof: The last rise, once the balls are shaped. Each ball relaxes and nearly doubles, so it stretches without springing back.; To start: 2–5 hours, until puffy and soft
Biga: A dry, shaggy pre-dough of flour, water and a pinch of yeast, made the day before. It gives a more fragrant, lighter pizza. Best tried after a few successful bakes.; To start: 45% water, 16–24 hours
Poolish: Like a biga, but runny: equal parts water and flour with very little yeast. It gives a stretchier dough and a more open crust.; To start: 100% water, 12–24 hours

If you're not sure what to pick

The starting values for each style in the Lab. Change them only after a few pizzas, once you know what you're after.

Style	Water	Ball or tray	What it's like
Napoletana	62%	250 g	Tall, soft crust. The classic, and a great place to start.
Roman Thin	55%	200 g	Thin and crisp. You can even roll it out with a pin.
Roman Tray	75%	40×60 cm	The best fit for a home oven: bakes well even at 250 °C.
Pinsa Romana	80%	oval, 30×40 cm	Very light, but a very wet dough: easier once you have some practice.
New York Style	62%	400 g	Big and thin, made to be folded in half.

Beginners' questions

Which flour should I use?

A soft wheat flour (Italian type 0 or 00, or a strong bread flour) with at least 12 g of protein per 100 g: check the nutrition label. Weaker flours struggle with long rises and the dough tears.

My oven only reaches 250 °C. Is that OK?

Yes. Preheat it for at least 45 minutes with a stone or a heavy steel tray inside, bake on the lowest shelf and finish with a couple of minutes under the grill. If you want to play it safe, start with the Roman tray pizza.

My dough didn't rise. What went wrong?

Almost always the temperature: in a cold kitchen dough rises much more slowly. Leave it longer somewhere warm (a switched-off oven with the light on works) and next time enter the real room temperature in the Lab.

Where does my data go?

The styles, Pizza Flows and menus you create are saved automatically in our database (Supabase), linked to an anonymous profile created for this browser: you don't need an account to use the Lab. Sign in with Google or Apple and the profile becomes yours, so you'll find everything on every device. If you clear your browser data without signing in, the anonymous profile and your recipes are lost.

Ready to mix?

Open the Lab, keep the suggested values and choose when you want to bake. Your first pizza is the one that teaches you the most.

Open the Pizza Lab

The Lab in three steps

Pick a style and how many pizzas

The first time, leave it on Napoletana with the suggested values: they're the most reliable starting point. The advanced settings will still be there when you need them.

Decide when you want to bake

Choose a Pizza Flow (Direct 24h works almost every time) and the time you want the pizzas out of the oven. The Lab works out how much yeast you need for that time and temperature.

Follow the plan

You get gram-accurate quantities and a time for every step, from mixing to baking. All you have to do is weigh carefully and keep to the timings.

Words you'll come across

Nine terms and you're set. Next to each one, the value to start from.

Hydration

How much water you add relative to the flour. With 1 kg of flour and 620 g of water you're at 62%. More water means a softer, airier pizza, but a stickier dough to handle.

To start: 60–65%

Yeast

Makes the dough rise. The more time you give it, the less you need: a 24-hour rise only takes a few grams. The Lab works it out from hours and temperature; you just need to weigh it properly.

To start: 1 g dried ≈ 3 g fresh

Salt

Adds flavour and makes the dough stronger. It's measured against the flour weight, like every other ingredient.

To start: 2.5–3% of the flour

Bulk rise

The first rise, with all the dough in one piece in the bowl. It builds strength before you divide it.

To start: 1–2 hours at room temperature

Cold rise

The dough rests in the fridge for many hours. It develops flavour, makes the pizza easier to digest and lets you mix the day before.

To start: 12–24 hours at about 4 °C

Dividing and balling

When you split the dough into balls, one per pizza, and shape each one round and taut.

To start: 250 g balls for a Neapolitan

Final proof

The last rise, once the balls are shaped. Each ball relaxes and nearly doubles, so it stretches without springing back.

To start: 2–5 hours, until puffy and soft

Biga

A dry, shaggy pre-dough of flour, water and a pinch of yeast, made the day before. It gives a more fragrant, lighter pizza. Best tried after a few successful bakes.

To start: 45% water, 16–24 hours

Poolish

Like a biga, but runny: equal parts water and flour with very little yeast. It gives a stretchier dough and a more open crust.

To start: 100% water, 12–24 hours

If you're not sure what to pick

The starting values for each style in the Lab. Change them only after a few pizzas, once you know what you're after.

Style

Water

Ball or tray

What it's like

Napoletana

62%

250 g

Tall, soft crust. The classic, and a great place to start.

Roman Thin

55%

200 g

Thin and crisp. You can even roll it out with a pin.

Roman Tray

75%

40×60 cm

The best fit for a home oven: bakes well even at 250 °C.

Pinsa Romana

80%

oval, 30×40 cm

Very light, but a very wet dough: easier once you have some practice.

New York Style

62%

400 g

Big and thin, made to be folded in half.

Beginners' questions

Which flour should I use?

A soft wheat flour (Italian type 0 or 00, or a strong bread flour) with at least 12 g of protein per 100 g: check the nutrition label. Weaker flours struggle with long rises and the dough tears.

My oven only reaches 250 °C. Is that OK?

My dough didn't rise. What went wrong?

Where does my data go?

Ready to mix?

Open the Lab, keep the suggested values and choose when you want to bake. Your first pizza is the one that teaches you the most.

Open the Pizza Lab