Baking guides
The methods behind the calculators, worked through with real numbers: how bakers write and scale formulas, control fermentation, and cost what they sell.
Baker's percentages explained, with a worked bread formula
How baker's percentages work: flour = 100%, a full worked bread formula, scaling to any dough weight, true percentages, two flours and preferments.
Dough hydration: what it means and how to calculate it
What dough hydration means, typical ranges by bread type, how to change it, how to count water in a starter, and how it relates to German TA.
Desired dough temperature: how to hit the same dough temperature every day
How to work out water temperature from desired dough temperature, with and without a preferment, and how to measure the friction factor, in °F and °C.
Preferment maths: poolish, biga and levain
How to build a poolish, biga or levain into a bread formula: prefermented flour, total formula vs final dough, worked examples and water temperature.
Scaling recipes and converting pan sizes
Scale a recipe by multiplier, yield or dough weight, and convert between round, square and rectangular pans by area. Pan area table and worked examples.
How to cost a bakery product, overheads included
Cost a bakery product properly: ingredients, packaging, labor, overhead and waste, worked through for a batch of croissants, then priced three ways.
How these guides are written
Every figure in a guide comes either from a published source linked at the end of that guide, or from arithmetic you can repeat with the matching calculator. Where sources disagree or a number is only a rule of thumb, the guide says so.