Final dough temperature: why it matters and how to hit it
If your dough is great one day and sluggish or overblown the next, temperature is the first suspect. Here's what the research and the pros say, and a calculator that tells you how warm or cold your water should be.
Who’s behind this: the team at TheLoveOfDough, the eBay store that sells these Sunmix machines. Links to eBay go to our own listings.
Short answer: aim for the same final dough temperature every batch, usually about 24–26 °C (75–78 °F) for bread and 22–26 °C (72–79 °F) for pizza. Hit it by adjusting your water temperature, using the formula below, which accounts for your room, your flour and the heat your mixer adds.
Why temperature runs your fermentation
Yeast works faster in warmer dough. Lab research on bread dough found carbon dioxide production rising with temperature up to around 40 °C before falling off (Chiotellis & Campbell, 2003). In practice, a few degrees warmer at the end of mixing can mean dough that's ready hours early, and a few degrees cooler can mean dough that isn't ready for service. King Arthur Baking's professional guidance puts it simply: consistent results need a consistent dough temperature, and warm, fast fermentation tends to cost flavor (King Arthur Baking).
Where the heat comes from
Your final dough temperature is the sum of your ingredients' temperatures plus the heat the mixer adds. That last part is bigger than most people expect. In a study of a spiral mixer run at 80–320 RPM for 7–15 minutes, the energy put into the dough and the dough's temperature rose together, with final temperatures ranging from 13.5 °C to 36 °C depending on speed and time (Shehzad et al., 2012). Faster and longer means hotter.
Targets the pros use
| Dough | Target at end of mixing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat breads | 24–26 °C (75–78 °F) | King Arthur Baking |
| Pizza, into a walk-in cooler | 75–80 °F (24–27 °C) | PMQ Pizza Magazine |
| Pizza, into a reach-in cooler | 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) | PMQ Pizza Magazine |
| Pizza (general) | 22–26 °C (72–79 °F) | Le 5 Stagioni |
The AVPN's rules for Neapolitan pizza don't set a final dough temperature. They specify water at 16–22 °C, plus fermentation and proofing conditions (AVPN International Regulations, 2024).
The water temperature formula
Water is the easiest ingredient to adjust, so bakers solve for it. Following King Arthur Baking's method:
Water temperature = (target dough temperature × 3) − room temperature − flour temperature − friction factor
With a preferment (biga, poolish, levain), multiply the target by 4 instead, and also subtract the preferment's temperature.
King Arthur's own example, in °F: a 76° target × 3 = 228; minus a 72° room, 74° flour and a friction factor of 24 gives 58° water.
Water temperature calculator
Find your mixer's friction factor
Published friction factors disagree. PMQ suggests about 20 °F for planetary or spiral mixers (PMQ), baker Maurizio Leo measured about 35–40 °F on a small spiral (The Perfect Loaf), and Italian mill Le 5 Stagioni gives an average rise of about 9 °C for spiral mixers versus about 3 °C for fork mixers (Le 5 Stagioni). Speed, time, batch size and hydration all change it.
So measure yours once, with your usual recipe and mixing routine:
- Write down the room, flour and water temperatures (and preferment, if you use one).
- Mix as you normally do and take the dough's temperature right away.
- Friction factor = (final dough temperature × 3) − room − flour − water. With a preferment, use × 4 and also subtract its temperature.
Use that number in the calculator from then on, and re-check it if you change speed, mixing time or batch size a lot.
Let the mixer help
Even with the formula, a hot day or a longer mix can push you over. That's the problem Sunmix's Evo mixers address: an infrared sensor reads the dough as it mixes and stops the machine at the maximum temperature you set, and up to 20 programs store your speeds and times. It doesn't replace the formula, but it catches the batch that would have run warm.
Sources
- Chiotellis & Campbell (2003). Proving of bread dough II. Food and Bioproducts Processing 81(3), 207–216. doi:10.1205/096030803322437974
- Shehzad, Chiron, Della Valle et al. (2012). Energetical and rheological approaches of wheat flour dough mixing with a spiral mixer. Journal of Food Engineering 110(1), 60–70. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.12.008
- King Arthur Baking, Dough temperature (professional reference). kingarthurbaking.com
- PMQ Pizza Magazine, Pizza dough temperature. pmq.com
- Le 5 Stagioni, Controlling temperatures in the dough. le5stagioni.com
- The Perfect Loaf, Mixing bread and pizza dough with a spiral mixer. theperfectloaf.com
- AVPN, International Regulations (Disciplinare), 2024. pizzanapoletana.org
Questions people ask
What is the friction factor in bread and pizza dough?
It's the temperature rise your mixer adds through mechanical work. It varies by mixer, speed, time and batch size, and published values disagree widely, so measure it on your own mixer with one trial batch.
What is a good final dough temperature for pizza?
Many pizza makers aim for about 22–26 °C (72–79 °F). PMQ suggests 75–80 °F for dough going into a walk-in cooler and 70–75 °F for reach-ins, because smaller coolers chill dough more slowly.
Does the AVPN specify a final dough temperature for Neapolitan pizza?
No. The AVPN rules specify water at 16–22 °C and fermentation and proofing conditions, but no final dough temperature.
What if the calculator says my water should be below freezing?
Replace part of the water with ice (by weight), chill the flour, or mix at a lower speed. A mixer that stops at a set dough temperature, like the Sunmix Evo, is a useful backstop.