Pizza dough, to the gram and step by step.

Getting started

The Knead tab is the starting point. You can:

• start a dough from scratch with standard values you can change;
• pick a preset style: classic Neapolitan, contemporary, pala or crispy pan pizza;
• continue the dough on the bench, the last one you worked on.

All styles opens The dough menu: the styles grouped by family (traditional, contemporary, bakery), each with its amounts, hydration and hours.

The Recipes tab holds the recipes you saved, and Settings holds units and kitchen preferences.

The recipe

At the top, You'll need lists the ingredients with their weights. When you use a biga, a poolish or an autolyse, the list is split into numbered stages, so you know what goes in at each moment.

Below, Adjust the recipe lists the parameters. Tap a row to open it and change the value with the ruler, or with the − and + buttons. Only one row is open at a time.

• Shape and quantity: number and weight of dough balls, total weight, or rectangular or round trays with their size and thickness.
• Hydration and Salt, as a percentage of the flour.
• Yeast: fresh, dry, instant, or stiff or liquid sourdough starter.
• Rise: total hours, room temperature, and how many of those hours are in the fridge. With Duration you set the total hours; with Schedule you choose the start and the time it should be ready, and the hours are worked out for you. You can also set the bulk rise and choose whether to shape the balls before or after the fridge.
• Advanced options:
  • preferment: biga from 10 to 100%, with its maturation hours, or poolish;
  • autolyse;
  • fats;
  • dough lost in processing;
  • yeast boost.

The amounts update as you change the values. Save keeps the recipe with a name and notes. If you're editing a recipe you already saved, you can choose Update this one or Save as new, with a different name. The share button at the top sends it as an image or as text.

The kneading guide

From the recipe, tap Start kneading.

1. Choose when you want to eat: a day and a time, or Start now.
2. MasterPIZZA builds the plan with the time of every step: preferment, autolyse, mixing, folds, bulk rise, fridge, shaping, final proof, oven and baking.
3. The step you are on shows the ingredients, a checklist, how to tell it's ready and a tip from the Maestro.
4. When you finish a step, tap Done.

Below the current step is the plan, with every step and its time; the moon marks the ones that fall at night. Tap a step to read how it's done. If you tapped Done by mistake, open the step and choose Undo.

A few things the plan does for you:

• The biga never lands in the middle of the night. If it would fall between 23:30 and 7:00, the plan changes its hours, always staying between 16 and 24.
• Folds appear when hydration is 70% or more: three sets, 20 minutes apart.
• The oven is switched on 45 minutes before baking.

Running late or early

If you finish a step less than 10 minutes off, nothing changes. Otherwise you choose:

• Keep the time: the remaining waits get shorter (or longer), within safe limits. If the yeast isn't in the dough yet, its amount is recalculated for the new hours. If the delay doesn't fit, the time it's ready moves by the difference, and the app tells you.
• Shift everything: every following step, and the time it's ready, moves by the delay.

You can remember the choice for the current dough, or set a default in Settings. Only one dough can be in progress at a time; you can stop the guide from the stop button at the top.

Alerts

The guide sends an alert 10 minutes before every step that needs you, even with the app closed. Folds arrive right on time. Alerts are scheduled on your phone; nothing passes through our servers.

• The first time you start a guide, Android asks for permission to send notifications.
• For alerts to arrive right on time, Android 14 and later also need the Alarms and reminders permission. Open Settings → Alerts right on time → Allow in the app. Without it, Android may delay alerts by up to an hour.
• Some manufacturers stop apps in the background to save battery. If alerts don't arrive, set MasterPIZZA to Unrestricted in the phone's battery settings.

Your recipes

In Recipes you can search by name and filter by dough balls, tray, biga or poolish. Tap a recipe to open it. The ⋯ button lets you rename it and edit its notes, share it, or delete it. After deleting, you can undo from the message at the bottom.

Settings

• Units: grams or ounces, Celsius or Fahrenheit, centimetres or inches.
• In the kitchen:
  • keep the screen on;
  • what to do when you're running late;
  • guide alerts and alerts right on time.
• General: language, privacy and ad choices, and a link to rate the app.

Questions

Since version 0.16 some amounts are different. Why?

Earlier versions overestimated the refresh yeast and the correction salt of the biga. They are now calculated as a percentage, as they should be, so recipes with those options give different (correct) amounts.

Where are my recipes stored?

Only on your phone. If you uninstall the app or clear its data, they are deleted. They are not copied to our servers.

Where did Guided and Pro modes go?

Version 0.16 has a single recipe screen that does both: the essential values first, the advanced options below.

Why does the app show ads?

MasterPIZZA is free, and ads support its development. You can review your ad choices at any time from Settings → Privacy and ads.

Contact

For help, suggestions or problems, write to mauropesci@infodreams.it. How the app handles data is explained in the privacy policy.

Happy kneading, and enjoy your pizza!