Desired Dough Temp, Basic Temperature

2024-10-31

I’ve read about DDT (desired dough temp) online, but never in too much detail. Well, at school we keep hearing about BT (basic temp), and I decided once and for all to figure out what all these things mean and how they relate to one another.

Desired Dough Temperature (DDT)

Desired dough temperature | King Arthur Baking

Temps in the 24-25c range for wheat-based yeast breads leads to the best flavour
Is used as a multiplier to calculate water temperature, which is the one variable that bakers can control
With preferment: DDT x 4
Without preferment: DDT x 3

Basic Temperature (BT)

Without preferment: Flour temp (FT) + Room temp (RT) + Friction factor (FF)
With preferment: FT + RT + PT (preferment temp) + FF

Friction Factor (FF)

Determining the friction factor in baking | King Arthur Baking

To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 and multiply the result by 5, then divide by 9. When converting a temperature difference, exclude the subtraction of 32 and only multiply the value by 5, then divide by 9. For instance, a friction factor of 10 in Fahrenheit is equivalent to a friction factor of 5.5 in Celsius (10 * 5 / 9 = 5.5).

Not a direct relationship between F and C - use this formula:

(FF in fahrenheit * 5 / 9)

So, a friction factor of 6f:

FF in celsius = (6f * 5 / 9)

Varies from machine to machine
Hand-kneading FF is 1-3c

Water Temp (WT)

Example with preferment

DDT => 24 (times 4 because we use preferment)
RT => 25
FT => 27
PT => 25
FF => 12

DDT = 24
BT = 25 + 27 + 25 + 12
BT = 89
WT = (24 * 4) - 89
WT = (96) - 89
WT = 7

Example without preferment

DDT => 24 (times 3)
RT => 25
FT => 27
FF => 3 (hand-knead)

DDT = 24
BT = 25 + 27 + 3
BT = 55
WT = (24 * 3) - 55
WT = (72) - 55
WT = 17

Conclusion