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Calculator

Water temperature for the dough you want

Water temperature is the desired dough temperature times 3, minus room, flour, and friction. With a preferment, times 4, and subtract that temperature too. Use one scale for every box. Friction presets are the middle of a cited range and are meant to be edited.

Quick answer. At the default — desired dough 78°F, room 72°F, flour 71°F, friction 23°F — the water is 68°F. That friction is the middle of King Arthur’s 22–24°F stand-mixer test, and you can edit it. No preferment is included, so the formula multiplies by 3.

Temperatures

King Arthur’s 7-quart KitchenAid test (stir 3 minutes, then speed 2 for 4 minutes) was 22–24°F. This starts at 23°F, the middle of that test. It is not every mixer.

Friction calibrator

From one dough you already mixed. The result is the friction of that mix.

24°F friction factor

Final dough temperature × 3, minus the temperatures you actually used. This is an estimate for that mix, not a permanent mixer setting.

Water

68°F water

Desired dough temperature × 3, then subtract the other temperatures. Friction is one of those subtractions.

King Arthur’s home example is 78 × 3 − 72 − 71 − 22 = 69°F. Their professional straight-dough example works backward to a 24°F friction factor, and the preferment example to 28°F. Those are worked batches, not a setting to copy onto a spiral mixer. Ideal wheat dough, in the same article, is 75–78°F. The Celsius friction that matches the default 23°F estimate is 12.8°C, because a difference converts by 5/9.

Questions

How do I calculate water temperature for dough?
For a straight dough, water temperature is the desired dough temperature times 3, minus room temperature, minus flour temperature, minus the friction factor. King Arthur’s worked example is 78 × 3 − 72 − 71 − 22 = 69°F. If you use a preferment, multiply by 4 and also subtract the preferment’s temperature.
Does the desired dough temperature formula work in Celsius?
Yes, if every input is in Celsius, including friction. Friction is a temperature difference, so a 22°F rise is 22 × 5/9 Celsius, not a converted thermometer reading. Do not mix the two scales in one calculation.
What friction factor should I use?
The presets are the middle of ranges King Arthur published, and they are labeled as editable estimates. Their 7-quart KitchenAid test (stir 3 minutes, then speed 2 for 4 minutes) was 22–24°F. Their 8-minute hand knead was 6–8°F. They also say many bakers use 0–4°F for gentler hand kneading, and they quote Jeffrey Hamelman at 24–28°F for most mixers. A different mixer or a different mix time needs your own number.
How do I measure my mixer’s friction factor?
Mix a dough, then take its temperature. Friction is that temperature times 3 (or times 4 with a preferment), minus room, flour, water, and preferment if you used one. King Arthur’s professional examples come out to 24°F and 28°F for the batches they measured. Put your result in the friction field.
What if the water temperature is below freezing?
Then the tap water is not cold enough for that desired dough temperature. Use ice in the water. This page does not calculate how many grams of ice to weigh. King Arthur gives 75–78°F as the ideal range for wheat-based yeasted doughs; that is a target, not a rule for every pizza.

Last reviewed 1 November 2026.

Sources

Preset friction values are the middle of a range the source published. They are labeled as editable estimates. Ice is suggested only when the calculated water is below freezing. No ice weight is calculated.