How To Calculate The Perfect Amount Of Pan Pizza Dough (But Is It Worth It?)

Pan pizza, baked in a skillet or on a baking sheet, is a simple and delicious way to make a great pie at home, especially if you don't have a specialty pizza stone or peel. However, some complicate the process by meticulously calculating dough quantities with mathematical formulas or online pizza calculators. To understand the best way to calculate pan pizza dough, we spoke with Noel Brohner, a pizza consultant, instructor, and founder of online pizza-learning platform Slow Rise Pizza Co., who tells us that such calculation efforts "may or may not complicate things," especially for those just looking to make pizza at home.  

To determine the exact amount of dough you need, Brohner notes that you can use a Pizza Dough Calculator or pizza-making forums like PizzaMaking.com, which factor in specific details like ingredient weights, desired crust thickness, and pan size. "For those less web-savvy pizza makers, there's a formula that some people say makes dough scaling for pans relatively easy," the pizza expert explains. "Use the area of your pan multiplied by a dough weight factor."

Certainly, a pizza dough calculator or mathematical formula might be worthwhile if you're running a pizza business and need to find ways to create consistent dough quantities, optimize costs, and increase pan pizza output. But even for the pizza pros, that's all a bit much — especially given the breadth of tradition and great recipes available. "All this said," Brohner concludes, "I prefer the old school methods of tradition and trial and error."

When making pizza at home, take Brohner's advice and experiment as you go. The beauty of pan pizza — other than its ability to produce a crispy yet chewy crust that holds plenty of toppings — is that it can be more forgiving than other traditional pizza methods. Placing the dough in the mold of a pan or skillet allows you to place less importance on factors like stretching and forming. Some pan pizza doughs don't even require kneading, instead relying on overnight refrigeration and increased dough moisture to develop gluten before proofing and placing the dough in an oiled skillet.

As you practice making crispy no-knead skillet pizza or Sicilian sheet pan pizza, begin by relying on your recipe's measurements. Then, adjust the dough quantity the next time you make it if decide you want a thicker crust, for instance. Trial and error will help you learn the tips you need when making homemade pizza crust, such as letting your dough rest after working with it and using fresh yeast. When trying out recipes, it's best to go with the instructions or even make a little extra pizza dough rather than reducing preparation quantities. This way, you can simply form the dough, let it rise, and then wrap any excess dough well to freeze it for another time. "Once you get the feel for it, you'll start eyeballing it," Brohner adds. So, get creative, and don't overcomplicate something as easy as pie.