New Dough Calculators

Hey, baker!

If you've ever stood at the counter doing mental math to hit a 78°F dough temperature, or scrambled to scale up or adjust levain ratios at the last minute, I built something for you.

I revamped my calculators: drag sliders to adjust water temp, tweak your starter ratio, scale quantities, and see estimated fermentation times.

Read on!

In this week's newsletter:

Tools & Guides: Starter calculator; water temp calculator; bread dough hydration guide
Baking Tip: Why isn't my bread rising with mix-ins added?
Links: Making a six-figure income baking bread from home; change your starter with one flour swap

💡 Starter and levain calculator

I've completely overhauled my starter and levain calculator to let you adjust feeding ratios and hydration, and scale up/down the amount made. The calculator will also provide an approximate fermentation time based on the temperature.

Drag the slides to adjust the build ratios, or select a common one (e.g., 1:5:5) to see exactly what you need to make your next levain.

TRY THE STARTER CALCULATOR →

💦 Dough Water Temp Calculator

If you aren't warming or cooling your mixing water to precisely hit a recipe's final dough temperature (FDT), use this calculator and make it so!

When you hit the right FDT at the end of mixing, you'll find the recipe is much more consistent and yields a better result.

TRY THE TEMP CALCULATOR →

💡 In case you missed it: all about hydration

Now that you know how to warm or cool your mixing water, check out my guide to figure out just how much water to add to your next mix.

READ DOUGH HYDRATION GUIDE →

Come Join The Baker's Corner

Want to chat with me and a bunch of other friendly and enthusiastic bakers? Join us to help support the site (like the creation of these calculators!) and get all my sourdough tools, the entire recipe archive with editable recipes, and access to our private chat channel.

SUPPORT THE SITE →

💬 Member Discussion of the Week

In making your “My Best Sourdough” from your cookbook (which I love!), it says it’s suitable for inclusions. The last 2 times I’ve made it, I’ve added 100g of toasted sunflower seeds. It’s DELICIOUS… But it is not rising nearly as much. Why would this be?

Once you add inclusions, they will weigh the dough down, resulting in less rise in the oven. I see them as "stressors" to the dough in a way. So what you're seeing is 100% expected.

🛟 2 Ways I Can Help You Today

Not sure about when to end bulk fermentation?

Hello, cold temperatures. If your kitchen is cold, expect slow fermentation. For some tips, read my guide to baking in the winter. for super-fast, efficient mixing.

📙 What I'm Reading and Watching

A Six-Figure Income Working From Home? The Sourdough Secret (NY Times). Many of you sent me this, and I'm honestly not sure what I think about the article. On the one hand, I'm happy for these folks and their entrepreneurial spirit; on the other hand, the article glosses over key details about running a bread business. For one thing, a six-figure gross income is great, but what's their actual net? I fear far less.
One Flour Swap Can Transform Your Sourdough (SciTechDaily; thanks John!).

Happy baking!

P.S. The calculators are completely free and without annoying ads, too! A move I'm trying to make more and more going forward, as more and more of you are joining the membership to support the site. Thank you!

Join me in the member's community, master sourdough, and get baker's perks.

Thank you for subscribing 🩶. Sent from Maurizio at The Perfect Loaf, 8100 Wyoming Blvd NE Ste M4, #343, Albuquerque, NM 87113.
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🍞 New calculators, less guesswork