Why it matters
By controlling the Desired Dough Temperature (DDT), you ensure that your dough is always ready on schedule. Since you can't easily change the room temperature or the flour temperature, the primary variable you control is the water temperature.
How we work it out
The formula
Water, flour, and the room all pull the dough toward their own temperatures. We solve for the water that lands you on target.
- DDT — your target temp (usually 75–78°F)
- Multiplier — 3 for straight doughs, 4 with a preferment/levain
- Friction — heat generated by the mixer
Friction factors
Mixing generates heat. A stand mixer on high speed adds significant heat to the dough, whereas hand mixing adds almost none.
Hand mix
~6°F
Stand mixer
~24°F
Spiral mixer
~30°F
Food processor
~40°F
By dough weight
It uses flour and water weights, not just temperatures.
Use this mode when you have recipe weights ready, bake larger batches, or want a closer result. Based on smart-ddt-calculator by jscalo / Made by Windmill, LLC (MIT). See the Windmill blog for the full write-up.