Dough and fermentation
Hydration, dough-ball size and fermentation change with the style.
Pizza Styles
Choose the pizza style that fits your oven and goal.
Choose the result you want, compare suitable styles and see which styles DoughTools can currently plan.
Style assistant
What kind of pizza do you want to make?
Start with the eating result, then compare the styles that fit your oven and goal.
DoughTools Pizza Plans currently support Neapolitan-style pizza. Other styles are learning references unless specifically marked otherwise.
Recommendation
Styles that fit this goal
Supported in Pizza PlanNaples, Italy
Neapolitan
A round personal pizza with a soft center, raised cornicione and very fast high-heat bake.
- Result
- Soft, light, aromatic and eaten soon after baking
- Oven fit
- High-heat pizza oven
- Crust and shape
- Round personal pizza · Thin center with a raised rim
- Bake behavior
- Fast, usually around 60–90 seconds in the formal reference environment
- Sauce and toppings
- Fresh tomato base used lightly · Restrained
View deeper style details
The hot oven expands the rim quickly while restrained toppings keep the center from becoming heavy. A longer lower-heat bake would dry the dough and change the topping behavior.
Common confusion: A home-oven pizza can be Neapolitan-inspired, but it is not formally AVPN-compliant unless the regulated process and oven environment are met.
Oven and bake
Heat, surface and bake time shape the result more than the name alone.
Sauce and toppings
Moisture and topping load need to match the crust and bake.
Browse all styles
Every style stays available.
Use the images to recognize shape, rim, thickness and bake style, then jump to the compact comparison.
Compact comparison
Compare the important differences.
Use this as the full style reference after the assistant narrows your direction.
Topping names are not dough styles. Margherita, Marinara, Diavola, Funghi, Prosciutto, Quattro Formaggi are menu presets used later for Shopping quantities.
Supported in Pizza PlanPreset data available
Neapolitan
A round personal pizza with a soft center, raised cornicione and very fast high-heat bake.
- Oven fit
- High-heat pizza oven
- Crust and texture
- Soft, light, aromatic and eaten soon after baking
- Shape or thickness
- Round personal pizza · Thin center with a raised rim
- Bake behavior
- 430–450 °C · 60–90 s
- Best for
- Very hot pizza ovens · Small personal pizzas
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 64% planning default · 12h room · W 260–280
Sauce and cheese: Fresh tomato base used lightly · Fresh mozzarella or fior di latte in restrained pieces
Topping load: Restrained
Common confusion: A home-oven pizza can be Neapolitan-inspired, but it is not formally AVPN-compliant unless the regulated process and oven environment are met.
Learning guidePreset data available
Contemporary Neapolitan
A modern family of Neapolitan-inspired approaches, often with a more expressive rim and open internal structure.
- Oven fit
- High-heat pizza oven
- Crust and texture
- Light, dramatic rim with a soft center
- Shape or thickness
- Round personal pizza · Thin center with a more expressive rim
- Bake behavior
- 420–440 °C · 75–110 s
- Best for
- Experienced high-heat baking · Dough-structure experiments
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 70% planning default · 48h cold · W 320–340
Sauce and cheese: Usually restrained tomato base or modern topping composition · Often fresh cheese with modern topping variation
Topping load: Variable, but still needs balance
Common confusion: Contemporary Neapolitan is not one universal formula. Not all examples are extremely high hydration, and not every puffy rim is automatically better.
Learning guidePreset data available
New York
A large round pie built for foldable slices, a crisp underside and flexible chew.
- Oven fit
- Lower heat than Neapolitan, often suitable for strong home-oven setups
- Crust and texture
- Foldable, chewy, crisp and slice-oriented
- Shape or thickness
- Large round pie · Medium-thin
- Bake behavior
- 260–300 °C · 5–8 min
- Best for
- Home ovens with a steel or stone · Large shared pies
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 65% planning default · 48h cold · W 300–320
Sauce and cheese: Cooked or seasoned tomato sauce is common · Low-moisture mozzarella, often shredded or sliced
Topping load: Moderate; slice must stay foldable
Common confusion: It is not simply a larger Neapolitan pizza. The dough, cheese, sauce and bake profile are adapted for a different result.
Learning guidePreset data available
Detroit
A rectangular pan pizza with an airy crumb, crisp fried base and caramelized cheese edge.
- Oven fit
- Home oven or deck oven with strong pan heat
- Crust and texture
- Crisp edges, soft interior, rich cheese edge
- Shape or thickness
- Rectangular or square pan pizza · Moderately thick but airy
- Bake behavior
- 230–260 °C · 12–16 min
- Best for
- Oiled metal pans · Home ovens
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 75% planning default · 48h cold · W 320–340
Sauce and cheese: Sauce often added above cheese or in stripes · Cheese pushed to the pan edge
Topping load: Can carry more than Neapolitan but still needs balance
Common confusion: Detroit is not just Sicilian pizza with different toppings. The edge cheese, pan tradition and sauce architecture are central.
Learning guidePreset data available
Roman Tonda
A round Roman pizza with a very thin, crisp base and low edge.
- Oven fit
- Moderate to high oven heat, not Neapolitan-fast
- Crust and texture
- Thin, crisp, snappy and structurally firm
- Shape or thickness
- Round · Very thin
- Bake behavior
- 280–320 °C · 4–7 min
- Best for
- Crisp-pizza goals · Home ovens with stone or steel
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 58% planning default · 24h cold · W 260–280
Sauce and cheese: Often spread closer to the edge · Style-dependent
Topping load: Light enough to preserve crispness
Common confusion: Roman pizza can mean more than one thing. Roman Tonda is not the same as Roman al Taglio or Teglia.
Learning guide
Roman al Taglio / Teglia
A rectangular Roman pan format, often cut by the piece, with crisp base and airy interior.
- Oven fit
- Deck oven or strong home oven adaptation
- Crust and texture
- Crisp base, airy interior, slice-by-weight feeling
- Shape or thickness
- Rectangular pan or tray · Medium to thick, variable
- Bake behavior
- Longer bake; toppings may be staged before, during or after baking
- Best for
- Sheet-pan learning · Slice service
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: Learning-only tray format; no pizza-plan default.
Sauce and cheese: Variable; often part of a broader topping system · Variable by topping style
Topping load: Often more varied than round styles
Common confusion: It should not be merged with Roman Tonda or Detroit. Tonda is round and thin; Detroit depends on cheese-to-edge pan architecture.
Learning guidePreset data available
Sicilian / Italian-American Sicilian
A term that can mean regional Sicilian traditions such as sfincione or Italian-American rectangular pan pizza.
- Oven fit
- Home oven, bakery oven or deck oven depending on form
- Crust and texture
- Shareable, thicker and bakery-like
- Shape or thickness
- Often rectangular in Italian-American pan context; regional forms vary · Thicker, bread-like pan structure
- Bake behavior
- 230–260 °C · 14–18 min
- Best for
- Sharing · Bakery-style squares
View dough, topping and technique details
Dough reference: 70% planning default · 24h room · W 300–320
Sauce and cheese: Can include thicker tomato, onions, anchovies or breadcrumb traditions in sfincione · Regional and Italian-American versions differ
Topping load: Variable
Common confusion: Sicilian is not one universal square cheese pizza, and Detroit is not merely Sicilian with a different topping order.
Optional detailExplore technique differencesOpen this only when you want the extra why behind a style.
The hot oven expands the rim quickly while restrained toppings keep the center from becoming heavy. A longer lower-heat bake would dry the dough and change the topping behavior.
Common confusion: A home-oven pizza can be Neapolitan-inspired, but it is not formally AVPN-compliant unless the regulated process and oven environment are met.
The style depends on a combination of flour strength, fermentation, dough handling, temperature and oven heat. A large rim alone does not define quality.
Common confusion: Contemporary Neapolitan is not one universal formula. Not all examples are extremely high hydration, and not every puffy rim is automatically better.
Oil and sometimes sugar are common adaptations for a longer, lower-temperature bake. Low-moisture cheese and a sturdier base help the slice stay foldable.
Common confusion: It is not simply a larger Neapolitan pizza. The dough, cheese, sauce and bake profile are adapted for a different result.
The pan, oil, cheese-to-edge placement and bake profile create the texture. Making a Neapolitan dough thicker will not reproduce the same edge or base.
Common confusion: Detroit is not just Sicilian pizza with different toppings. The edge cheese, pan tradition and sauce architecture are central.
The thin shaping, low edge and bake profile aim for crispness rather than the soft elastic center of Neapolitan pizza.
Common confusion: Roman pizza can mean more than one thing. Roman Tonda is not the same as Roman al Taglio or Teglia.
The pan shape, dough strength, fermentation and careful handling support an airy sheet structure. It is not just Detroit without cheese edges.
Common confusion: It should not be merged with Roman Tonda or Detroit. Tonda is round and thin; Detroit depends on cheese-to-edge pan architecture.
The term covers more than one tradition. Pan thickness, oil, topping order and regional ingredients all change the result.
Common confusion: Sicilian is not one universal square cheese pizza, and Detroit is not merely Sicilian with a different topping order.
Ready to plan
Start with the style DoughTools can plan today.
Pizza Plan currently builds a Neapolitan-style plan around your oven, timing and quantity. Use the other styles here as learning references.
Plan a Neapolitan-style pizza