Dough Temperature Calculator (DDT)
Fermentation speed follows dough temperature. Enter your flour and room temperatures to get the water temperature that lands on your target dough temperature, and see how bulk time shifts at other temperatures.
Results
- Your dough temperature
- 24 °F (-4.4 °C)
Bulk time by temperature (heuristic)
Bulk fermentation time vs 25 °C (26 °C / 79 °F class baseline)
- At 10 °C
- ×8
- At 15 °C
- ×4
- At 20 °C
- ×2
- At 25 °C
- ×1
- At 30 °C
- ×0.5
Relative time is a heuristic (activity roughly doubles every 5 °C): at 20 °C bulk takes about 2x longer than at 25 °C. Watch the dough, not the clock.
How the formula works
The classic bakery formula: water temperature = (desired dough temperature x 4) - flour temperature - room temperature - friction factor. Each factor contributes roughly a quarter of the final dough temperature. The friction factor compensates for heat added by mixing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ideal dough temperature for sourdough?
Most sourdough bakers aim for 24-26 C (75-79 F) at the end of mixing: warm enough for predictable bulk fermentation, cool enough to avoid runaway acidification. Colder doughs simply ferment slower - the calculator shows how much.
What is the friction factor?
It compensates for heat that mixing adds to the dough. No-knead and gentle hand mixing add almost none (0); a stand mixer on medium adds roughly 1-3 degrees depending on the machine and the batch size. Measure once: mix a batch and compare the dough temperature to this formula.
My water temperature came out below freezing. What now?
That means your flour and room are far above the target. Use the coldest water available, reduce friction, and accept a slightly warmer dough - or pre-cool the flour and the bowl. A few degrees off target is not a failure.
How accurate is the bulk time table?
It is a planning heuristic, not a law: fermentation activity roughly doubles every 5 C in the practical sourdough range. Use it to plan a schedule, then watch volume and feel instead of the clock.