Calculator
Bake planner: work back from dinner time
Pick when you want to eat. The steps run backward from that time. Preheat overlaps the end of the proof instead of being stacked on top of it. Download the result as a calendar file.
Quick answer. The overnight pizza template, counted back from 7:00 pm, starts with mix dough 20 hr 53 min before dinner. Preheat is set to end when baking starts, so it does not add time on top of the proof.
Schedule
- 20 hr 53 min before Mix dough 25 min.
- 20 hr 28 min before Cold bulk ferment 18 hr.
- 2 hr 28 min before Divide and ball 15 min.
- 2 hr 13 min before Room-temperature proof 2 hr.
- 58 min before Preheat oven 45 min. Runs alongside the later steps.
- 13 min before Bake 8 min.
- 5 min before Rest before eating 5 min.
These offsets use the durations above. Pick a time to eat and the clock times replace this list.
What the file contains
The download is one .ics calendar with an event per step. Times are floating local times: no time zone is written, so 7:00 stays 7:00 on the clock you used. A calendar app may still display them against your current zone.
The durations are a workable template, not a rule. They do not choose the yeast. A fridge step and a room-temperature step need a yeast weight that matches both, which is what the yeast calculator is for. Change any hours or minutes before you export.
Mix the evening before, cold bulk, then a two-hour room-temperature proof. Yeast still has to match your fridge and kitchen. A three-hour room-temperature bulk, a ninety-minute proof, and an hour of cooling before you cut.
Questions
- How do I plan pizza dough backward from dinner?
- Enter the time you want to eat. The overnight template places mix, cold bulk, balling, a room-temperature proof, preheat, bake, and a short rest so the last step ends at that time. Change any hours or minutes before you download the calendar file.
- Does the bake planner calendar include a time zone?
- No. The file uses floating local times, with no Z suffix, so 7:00 stays 7:00 on the clock you picked. A calendar app may still display those times in its own zone.
- Does the bake planner choose the yeast?
- No. The durations are a template you can edit. A fridge step and a counter step need a yeast weight that matches both temperatures, which is what the yeast calculator is for. This page does not set that dose.
- Why doesn’t preheat push dinner later?
- Preheat is set to end when baking starts. It overlaps the end of the proof instead of being stacked on top of the other steps.
- What is the default bake schedule?
- The overnight pizza template: mix, an 18-hour cold bulk, balling, a 2-hour room-temperature proof, a 45-minute preheat that ends as baking starts, an 8-minute bake, and 5 minutes of rest. Those lengths are a workable template on this site, not a published standard. Reset also sets the eat time to tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
Last reviewed 1 November 2026.
Sources
- Step lengths are templates on this page, not a published schedule. The downloaded file is an iCalendar document with floating local times and no time-zone suffix.