Desired dough temperature calculator
To hit your desired dough temperature, water = DDT × factors − flour temp − room temp − friction (add the preferment for the four-factor version). Enter your temperatures and LoafMath does the arithmetic, in °C or °F.
- Very cold or hot water? Adjust the room, or chill the flour, instead of shocking the yeast.
- Log how far off you land and tune the friction factor next bake.
How do you calculate water temperature for dough?
Every batch of dough starts from a few temperatures you cannot easily change — your flour, your kitchen, the heat your mixing adds — plus one you can: the water. The desired-dough-temperature method works backwards from the temperature you want to the water temperature that gets you there.
Three factors, or four with a preferment
For a straight dough, three things drive the final temperature: flour, room and friction. So water = DDT × 3 − flour − room − friction. When you add a preferment or a lively levain, that is a fourth temperature in the mix, so the multiplier becomes four: water = DDT × 4 − flour − room − preferment − friction. Toggle the preferment option above to switch between them.
Getting the friction factor right
Friction is the wild card — the heat your hands or your mixer add. It is small for a gentle hand mix and much larger for a long spell in a stand mixer. Start with a modest guess, measure your dough straight after mixing, and adjust: if you landed two degrees warm, your friction factor was two degrees higher than you assumed. A couple of bakes and you will know your own number.
DDT formula worked example, in °C and °F
In Celsius: you want a 25 °C dough, your flour is 21 °C, the kitchen is 22 °C and a hand mix adds about 2 °C. Water = 25 × 3 − 21 − 22 − 2 = 30 °C.
In Fahrenheit: a 77 °F target, 70 °F flour, a 72 °F kitchen and 4 °F of friction gives water = 77 × 3 − 70 − 72 − 4 = 85 °F. The formula works the same in either unit, as long as every temperature uses the same one.
What water temperature should I use for sourdough?
Water temperature for a 25 °C (77 °F) dough, by kitchen temperature, assuming your flour is stored in the same room and you mix by hand. The levain column assumes the levain is at kitchen temperature too. For your own numbers, use the calculator above.
| Kitchen | Water, no preferment | Water, with levain |
|---|---|---|
| 18 °C 64 °F | 37 °C 99 °F | 44 °C 111 °F |
| 20 °C 68 °F | 33 °C 91 °F | 38 °C 100 °F |
| 22 °C 72 °F | 29 °C 84 °F | 32 °C 90 °F |
| 24 °C 75 °F | 25 °C 77 °F | 26 °C 79 °F |
| 26 °C 79 °F | 21 °C 70 °F | 20 °C 68 °F |
| 28 °C 82 °F | 17 °C 63 °F | 14 °C 57 °F |
How does dough temperature change bulk fermentation time?
Approximate bulk fermentation time for a typical sourdough, by dough temperature. Warmer dough ferments faster. In this estimate the time roughly halves for every 8 °C warmer. Whatever the clock says, end bulk when the dough has risen 30–50% and looks domed, jiggly and bubbly.
| Dough temperature | Bulk fermentation |
|---|---|
| 20 °C (68 °F) | about 7 h |
| 22 °C (72 °F) | about 6 h |
| 24 °C (75 °F) | about 5 h |
| 26 °C (79 °F) | about 4 h |
| 28 °C (82 °F) | about 3½ h |
Dough temperature FAQ
What is desired dough temperature (DDT)?
DDT is the temperature you want your dough to be right after mixing — usually 24–26 °C (75–78 °F) for sourdough. Hitting it makes fermentation predictable: too warm and the dough races ahead, too cool and it drags. You steer it mainly by adjusting the water temperature.
How do you calculate water temperature for dough?
Multiply your target dough temperature by the number of temperature factors, then subtract the others. With no preferment: water = DDT×3 − flour temp − room temp − friction. With a preferment or levain: water = DDT×4 − flour − room − preferment − friction.
What is the friction factor in dough?
Mixing adds heat through friction. For hand-mixing it is small — around 1–2 °C (2–4 °F). A stand mixer adds more, often 5–10 °C over a full mix. Start with a small value, then note how far off your actual dough temperature lands and adjust the friction factor next time.
Why is my dough temperature important?
Temperature is the throttle on fermentation. A dough at 27 °C ferments far faster than the same dough at 22 °C, so if you cannot control your dough temperature, your timings will never be repeatable. Nailing DDT is how bakers make the same loaf twice.
What is the ideal dough temperature for sourdough bulk fermentation?
Most sourdough recipes aim for 24–26 °C (75–78 °F). In LoafMath’s estimate, bulk takes about 5 hours at 24 °C, about 7 hours at 20 °C and about 3½ hours at 28 °C. End bulk by the dough, not the clock. Look for a 30–50% rise and a domed, jiggly, bubbly surface.
How do you measure dough temperature?
Push an instant-read probe thermometer into the centre of the dough straight after mixing. Measure your flour and the room the same way before you mix, so the calculator works from real numbers. The gap between your target and the reading tells you how to adjust your friction factor next time.
What if my dough temperature is too high or too low?
For this batch, move the dough somewhere cooler or warmer and watch the dough rather than the clock. A warm dough finishes bulk sooner, a cool one later. For the next batch, change the water. In the three-factor formula the water is one of three temperatures being averaged, so water 3 °C colder cools the dough by about 1 °C (with a preferment it takes about 4 °C).