Desired Dough Temperature Calculator: Water Temperature

Why dough temperature matters

Fermentation speed depends on temperature. King Arthur Baking's professional reference explains that while bread yeast grows fastest in the mid-90s °F, flavor development needs considerably lower temperatures, and that wheat doughs should generally be 75–78°F at the end of mixing. A dough that comes out at 70°F one day and 80°F the next can't be expected to behave the same way.

Exceptions it notes: naturally leavened doughs that will ferment in a retarder (a cold fermentation) can be slightly cooler, and sourdoughs with a high proportion of rye benefit from the low to mid 80s.

The formula

Everything that goes into the dough contributes heat, and so does mixing. Add up the known temperatures, and the water makes up the difference.

• Straight dough: water = DDT × 3 − room − flour − friction
• With a preferment (starter, levain): water = DDT × 4 − room − flour − preferment − friction

Worked examples

These match the examples in the professional reference:

Finding your friction factor

Friction is the hardest number to pin down, and it changes with mixer type, speed, mix time and batch size. To measure it, make a batch, note every temperature, and take the dough temperature right after mixing. Then:

friction = actual dough temperature × 3 (or 4) − room − flour − water (− preferment)

Use the same mixing method next time and the friction factor will be close. Hand mixing adds very little heat, so home bakers who mix and fold by hand can start with a small number and refine it.

Measuring temperatures

An instant-read probe thermometer makes this easy. Measure the flour in its bag or bin, the air near where the dough will ferment, the starter in its jar, and the dough itself in the middle of the mass after mixing.

After mixing

Hitting your target at the end of mixing is half the job; keeping the dough there during bulk fermentation is the other half. In a cool kitchen, an oven with only the light on, a proofing box or a warm spot can help. In a hot kitchen, the dough may move fast: check it earlier than the recipe says.

See our starter guide for how temperature affects starter timing.

Common questions

What temperature should sourdough be after mixing?

King Arthur Baking's professional reference says wheat doughs should generally be 75–78°F at the end of mixing, with naturally leavened doughs that will be retarded possibly a little lower, and high-rye sourdoughs in the low to mid 80s.

What is the friction factor?

The heat added by mixing. It depends on the mixer type, speed, mix time and batch size. Hand mixing adds little; machines add more. You can measure yours with a test batch.

Does this work in Celsius?

Yes, as long as every temperature, including the friction factor, is in °C. A friction factor in °C is about 5/9 of the °F figure.

What if the answer is below freezing?

In a hot kitchen with a warm starter, the math can ask for impossibly cold water. Chill the flour, use ice water, or mix in a cooler room.