Not a calculator. A pizzaiolo.
pizzAI brings a real Neapolitan pizzaiolo's craft into your kitchen — you get better with every dough.
by @pizza.brudi · 15+ years of Neapolitan craft
Why pizzAI?
Free calculators
Give you numbers. They don't tell you why your pizza failed — or how to get it right next time.
pizzAI
Builds the right recipe for your conditions, explains the why, and diagnoses via LuigAI when needed.
Method, not a formula
Your recipe is built for your conditions, with a real pizzaiolo's thinking. No generic formulas.
LuigAI, your coach in the dough
A named coach that diagnoses by a fixed method: diagnosis → immediate fix → solution. Not a generic chat.
A real pizzaiolo
15+ years of Neapolitan craft sit in every calculation and in LuigAI. No anonymous tech.
Understand it once, never ruin it again.
See how LuigAI thinks.
A real conversation — see how LuigAI diagnoses step by step.
Pronto! What's going wrong with your pizza right now?
You
I'm trying to stretch my pizza base, but the dough keeps springing back. I just can't get it to the right size. What went wrong and how do I fix it?
Mamma Mia! As a pizzaiolo I know this struggle well — it's the classic battle against elasticity. Your dough has too much tension and not enough extensibility right now.
To tell you exactly why this happened and how to fix it, I need a few details:
1. Flour: Do you know the W-rating? (If not: protein content in %?)
2. Hydration: How much water did you use? (in %)
3. Proofing: How long was the bulk fermentation and how long the final proof — and at what temperatures?
4. Rise: How much did the dough rise overall? Did it roughly double?
5. Space: How much room do the balls have in their container?
Give me those numbers and we'll work it out!
You
1. W300
2. 62%
3. Bulk 22h, final proof 2h — all at 21°C.
4. Roughly doubled.
5. Individual containers per ball. The ball just barely fit.
Clear diagnosis: the problem is your bulk/final proof ratio.
Your dough built up very high internal tension because it rested almost the entire time as a mass (bulk fermentation). With W300 and 62% hydration you have a firm dough that needs significantly more time in the final proof (as a ball) to relax and become extensible. The tight individual container also prevented the ball from spreading.
Immediate fix (right now)
• Rest breaks: After the first gentle stretch, let the balls rest covered for 10–15 min. This relaxes the gluten network.
• Step stretching: Stretch only as far as it goes without resistance, wait 2 min, then a bit more. Repeat.
• Don't force it: If you pull too hard, the gluten will tear — work slowly and patiently.
Structural fix (next time)
Priority 1: Shift the ratio
Instead of 22h bulk + 2h final proof, aim for 8–9h bulk and 15–16h final proof. This gives the ball enough time to develop extensibility.
Priority 2: More container space
Give each ball more room. If it presses against the sides, it can't relax and stays elastic.
Priority 3: Higher hydration (optional)
W300 at 21°C handles more water easily. Going to 64–65% makes the dough naturally softer.
Key tip: Next time, change Priority 1 only first. The extensibility improvement from the longer final proof alone will be massive!
LuigAI is an AI and can make mistakes. Please verify the answers.
Diagnose your case in the app →
How your pizza dough recipe is built.
Tell pizzAI your conditions.
Flour, kneading method, available time, room and fridge temperature, bake temperature.
Get the right recipe + workflow plan.
More than gram-precise quantities, cleanly split into bulk and final proof — plus a step-by-step guide for making the dough.
Get better with every dough.
Save, rate, compare — and LuigAI when something goes wrong.
Systematic, not trial and error. Every dough teaches you something.
Built by a pizzaiolo.
pizzAI is built by Rudi (@pizza.brudi) — a self-taught pizzaiolo with 15+ years in modern Neapolitan pizza, restaurant consultant and course instructor. LuigAI is his AI pizzaiolo: a diagnostic coach for Neapolitan pizza. No forums, no guessing — systematic diagnosis, not generic tips.
@pizza.brudiWhat home pizzaioli say.
"Best pizza app I've ever used."
"LuigAI is outstanding — its answers are on point and just make sense. My pizza is so much better now."
"Great app. Exactly what I was looking for. A real help for making Neapolitan pizza."
Go deeper: dough diagnostics
In-depth guides for the problems that ruin a bake.
Recognise & rescue overproofed dough
Signs, causes, and whether it can still be saved.
Dough tears when stretching
Diagnosis & fix for every cause.
Dough too stiff or base too hard
Causes & fix – before and after baking.
Dough too soft, sticky, or without structure
Causes & fix, from hydration to overproofing.
Dough lumpy and won’t smooth out
Rest, knead, or stretch and fold – what actually works.
How to calculate dough hydration
Why flour strength is the main factor, step by step.
Dough not rising
From cold rooms to a flat rim – causes & fix.
Freezing pizza dough
Yeast amount, thawing, and common mistakes.
Pizza sticks to the peel, stone, or pan
The semola technique that gets it sliding cleanly into the oven.
Poolish vs biga?
The difference, the pre-ferment ratio, and when to use each.
Dough tastes bland
Salt, fermentation time, and browning – the most common causes.
Dough forms a skin or dries out
Almost always the covering – here’s how to rescue it.
Crust chewy or tough after baking
Too little oven spring plus the wrong hydration – causes & fix.
Pizza looks done but is raw inside
Underheated stone, wrong rack position, or a heavy topping – causes & fix.
Dough truly overworked?
Slack, sticky, shiny dough – usually the temperature, not the kneading time.
Ready for the best pizza of your life?
