Reducing Size From Recipe

[achtungbaby]

Hi.

I'm new to pizza making. I have a recipe for a 18″ pizza but my oven is too small, I think, for that size. I have a 12" pizza pan. To reduce the size, do I just reduce all the ingredients by a third? Is that any different for the yeast?

[parallei]

i think you'd want to maintain the same thickness, so I think you'd want to reduce it by area:

area 18-inch dia pie = 254.5 in2

area 12-incgh dia pie = 113.1 in2

So use by 113.1/254.5 = 0.44 of original ingedients.  I think.....

[Pete-zza]

achtungbaby,

The answer is that for the 12" pizza you would use 44.44% of the ingredients for the 18" pizza. Where does the 44.44% come from? It is the ratio of the squares of the radii of the two pizzas, or 36/81 = 0.444444, or 44.44%. To prove out the math, compare the two hypothetical formulations below that are identical but for the pizza sizes:

Dough Formulation for 18" Pizza

Flour (100%): Water (62%): IDY (0.45%): Salt (1.75%): Olive Oil (1%): Sugar (1%): Total (166.2%):

426.43 g  |  15.04 oz | 0.94 lbs 264.39 g  |  9.33 oz | 0.58 lbs 1.92 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.64 tsp | 0.21 tbsp 7.46 g | 0.26 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.34 tsp | 0.45 tbsp 4.26 g | 0.15 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.95 tsp | 0.32 tbsp 4.26 g | 0.15 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.07 tsp | 0.36 tbsp 708.72 g | 25 oz | 1.56 lbs | TF = 0.09824

Dough Formulation for 12" Pizza

Flour (100%): Water (62%): IDY (0.45%): Salt (1.75%): Olive Oil (1%): Sugar (1%): Total (166.2%):

189.52 g  |  6.69 oz | 0.42 lbs 117.5 g  |  4.14 oz | 0.26 lbs 0.85 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.28 tsp | 0.09 tbsp 3.32 g | 0.12 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.59 tsp | 0.2 tbsp 1.9 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.42 tsp | 0.14 tbsp 1.9 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.48 tsp | 0.16 tbsp 314.99 g | 11.11 oz | 0.69 lbs | TF = 0.09824

Note the final dough ball weights: 25 ounces for the 18" pizza and 11.11 ounces for the 12" pizza. The ratio of 11.22/25 = 0.4444, or 44.44%. The same ratio applies to all of the individual ingredients. Also, the physical characteristics will be essentially identical. You can also use the same percent for sauce, cheese and toppings. However, you will need to know how much sauce, cheese and toppings are used by the 18" pizza. In the above example, you would multiply those amounts by 44.44%.

As I was composing this reply, I see that parallei was posting. He got the correct answer. However, you can leave out pi (3.14159) in calculating the areas since they cancel out. You only need to use the ratios of the squares of the radii.

Peter

[parallei]

I think.....

Actually, I knew!

I just thought that the concept of the thickness/area or weight/area is important to understand.

t is the ratio of the squares of the radii of the two pizzas, or 36/81 = 0.444444, or 44.44%.

Which is fine for CIRCULAR pies, not so much for RECTANGULAR pies.....just saying.  So area is a good concept too.

[achtungbaby]

Thanks for the help guys! My head kinda hurts from all that math, though!

[Pete-zza]

My head kinda hurts from all that math, though!

achtungbaby,

At the risk of making your head hurt a little bit more, the math works the same way for rectangular pizzas except that there is no pi (3.14159) involved. For example, if you (or someone else) had a dough recipe for a 12" x 17" pan and wanted to convert the recipe for an 8" x 10" pan, you would use (8 x 10)/(12 x 17) = 39.22% times the values of the ingredients used for the 12" x 17" pan.

What I have not considered (even though I think I could figure it out) is how to convert a recipe for say, an 18" round pizza, to one for a 12" x 17" rectangular pan. I'd do the calculation but I would have you off looking for an Excedrin Extra Strength  .

Peter

[TXCraig1]

What I have not considered (even though I think I could figure it out) is how to convert a recipe for say, an 18" round pizza, to one for a 12" x 17" rectangular pan. I'd do the calculation but I would have you off looking for an Excedrin Extra Strength  .

That would require pi.

CL

[parallei]

how to convert a recipe for say, an 18" round pizza, to one for a 12" x 17"

The ratio would be:

(D x D) x (.7854)
        W X L

Where:

D = diameter of round pizza in inches
W = width of rectangular pizza in inches
L =  length of rectangular pizza in inches.


No nasty pi!  Well it's there, but hidden!

I'm bored today!

[TXCraig1]

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