Desired Dough Temperature Calculator
Enter your target dough temperature and kitchen conditions, and see how warm or cold to make the water.
Your water temperature
Use 77 °F (25 °C) water to reach 76 °F at the end of mixing.
- Water
- 77 °F25 °C
- Dough
- 76 °Fafter mixing
- Factors
- × 3in the formula
| Target × 3 | 228 °F |
|---|---|
| − Flour | 72 °F |
| − Room | 72 °F |
| − Friction factor | 7 °F |
| = Water | 77 °F |
Check the dough with a probe thermometer right after mixing. If it is off, adjust the friction factor and the water for your next batch; the friction factor for each mixing method is a published starting point, not a measurement of your mixer.
How it works
The dough's temperature after mixing ends up close to the average of everything that went into it, plus the heat of mixing. Water is the easiest of those to change, so the calculator solves for it:
water = DDT × 3 − (flour + room + friction factor)
with a preferment: water = DDT × 4 − (flour + room + preferment + friction factor)
The same formula works in °C, as long as the friction factor is also in °C degrees (multiply a °F friction factor by 5/9). Turning it around gives your friction factor from a trial dough: dough temperature × 3, minus the flour, room and water temperatures.
Worked example
- You want the dough at 78 °F. The room is 72 °F, the flour 71 °F, and a stand mixer adds 22 °F.
- 78 × 3 = 234.
- 234 − 72 − 71 − 22 = 69 °F water (about 21 °C).
This is King Arthur Baking's own example. Their professional reference adds one with a preferment: 75 × 4 = 300, minus 68 °F flour, 68 °F room, 71 °F preferment and a 26 °F friction factor, gives 67 °F water.
FAQ
What is desired dough temperature?
It is the temperature you want the dough to have when mixing ends. King Arthur Baking puts it at 75–78 °F for most wheat doughs. Hitting it every time makes rise times predictable, because yeast works faster in a warm dough and slower in a cool one.
What is the friction factor?
The heat that mixing adds to the dough, in degrees. It depends on the mixer, the speed, the time and the size of the batch. King Arthur Baking measured 6–8 °F for 8 minutes of mixing by hand and 22–24 °F for a 7-quart KitchenAid; America’s Test Kitchen uses 25 °F for a food processor.
How do I measure my own friction factor?
Mix a dough the way you always do and write down the flour, room and water temperatures. Take the dough’s temperature as soon as mixing ends, then open "Find your friction factor" and enter it with the water temperature. Use the result the next time you mix the same way.
Why multiply by 4 when there is a preferment?
Because the preferment is a fourth ingredient with its own temperature. The formula averages everything that goes into the bowl: flour, room and water for a straight dough, plus the poolish, biga or levain when there is one. Treat a sourdough starter or levain as the preferment.
What if the water needs to be colder than my tap?
Chill it with ice, then take the ice out before you weigh the water. If even ice water is not cold enough, keep the flour in the fridge, mix for less time, or let the dough ferment a little faster than planned.
Related tools
- Fermentation Time Calculator
Estimated rise time at your dough temperature.
Sourdough CalculatorA sourdough bread recipe from loaf size, hydration and starter.
Poolish & Biga CalculatorSplit a dough into a preferment and a final mix.
Pizza Dough CalculatorFlour, water, salt and yeast for Neapolitan, New York, Detroit and Sicilian pizza.