How to Use the Calculator

The Universal Bread Calculator Pro lets you choose your bread style, leavening method, and key numbers (weight, hydration, temperature, and more), then gives you a full recipe with accurate weights and steps. This guide walks you through each part of the calculator so you can get the recipe you want every time.

1. Choose Your Bread Style

At the top of the calculator you will see three options: Super Soft (Tangzhong), Classic Sandwich, and Artisan / Rustic. Pick the one that matches what you want to bake. Super Soft uses the Japanese tangzhong method for very soft, fluffy bread. Classic Sandwich is a direct or slightly enriched dough for everyday sandwich loaves. Artisan is a lean, crusty loaf with higher hydration and no (or minimal) fat and sugar. The style you choose changes the default hydration, sweetener, and fat, and whether tangzhong or other steps appear in the recipe.

2. Set Leavening: Sourdough or Yeast

Choose Sourdough or Yeast. If you choose Sourdough, you can then pick Leaven Style: Liquid, Stiff, or Sweet stiff starter. Each affects how much starter you build and how the recipe is split into stages. If you choose Yeast, you can pick Poolish or Biga as a pre-ferment. The calculator will show you the right build (e.g. starter or poolish) and the main dough, with all weights calculated. Rise time is estimated based on your room temperature and inoculation (starter or pre-ferment percentage).

3. Adjust the Sliders

Room Temp: Set your kitchen temperature in °F. This affects the estimated rise time. Weight: The total dough weight (or loaf size) you want, in grams. The calculator scales all ingredients to this. Whole Wheat: The percentage of flour that is whole wheat; the rest is bread or all-purpose. Starter / Pre-ferment %: How much of the flour is in the starter or pre-ferment; higher usually means a faster rise and more flavor. Feed Ratio: For sourdough, the ratio of seed starter to flour in your build (e.g. 1:2 means 1 part starter, 2 parts flour). Hydration: Water as a percentage of flour. Sweetener and Fat/Oil: Optional; the calculator shows or hides these depending on bread style. Move the sliders and watch the recipe update in real time.

4. Read the Recipe Output

The right side (or below on small screens) shows the full recipe. You will see quick stats (total flour, whole wheat, estimated rise time), then step-by-step: Starter or pre-ferment build, Tangzhong (if applicable), and Main dough. Each step lists ingredients in grams. At the bottom there is a process guide (starter, mix, raise, proof, bake). Use the Copy Recipe button to copy the whole recipe to your clipboard. You can also save the recipe to your baking history and add notes and photos later.

5. Save and Reuse

Your preferences and saved bakes are stored in your browser (localStorage). No account is required. If you clear browser data, you will lose them. The Recipes tab on the calculator page shows your baking history and links to more guides on starter maintenance, tangzhong, and hydration. Start with the defaults for your chosen style, then tweak sliders until the recipe matches what you want. Happy baking.