A Recipe Spreadsheet

Hello PhilBakerAdams,

Nice looking spreadsheet.  Haven't yet delved into the nitty gritty in any great detail but I can see one small problem with the water requirements for the target hydrations specifically when you enter the base loaf weight as the target (I haven't checked other cases).  According to my calculations if you added the amount shown for say a typical 1kg loaf you would end up with a lower hydration (admittedly not a great deal different) than that indicated.  In the case that I used, I calculate that the indicated amount for 74% (actual 74.49) should really be 73% (actual 73.39).  I think it comes about because you pro rata the water based on the hydration ratios rather than calculating the water requirement from the flour amount with allowance for any in the starter.

In the scheme of things it doesn't matter a great deal but me being something of a pedant in these matters, I thought I would mention it.

As an aside, I have a hydration calculator linked to in one of my blogs here and I did make a start on a more comprehensive one such as you have done but got side tracked onto other things and never completed it.

So, well done and good luck with your projects.

Farinam

Hi PhilBakerAdams,

I can't see that your new version is any different with respect to what i was talking about.  To correct the small error, in cell J5  et seq you need a formula like

=IF(WaterWanted<>"",((WaterWanted+Starter*0.5)/RecipePercent) *L5 - Starter*0.5,"")

Obviously, the multiplier for the starter needs to be variable so you would need to convert the StarterWater cell from a string to a value and use that perhaps.

As I say it is not a great drama, it only makes a percent or two difference in the amount of water needed so if you don't feel the need, the world is not going to end.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

Hi Phil,

Your summation in F18 includes the starter flour calculation in F9 and gives an incorrect dough mass.

Also, strictly, the correction should also be applied to the Other Liquid calculation as well.  Plus, you should be working on the scaled starter mass rather than the original starter mass.

Keep on bakin' ( and spreadsheetin')

Farinam

Hi Phil,

Thinking through it all, can I make the following suggestions.

Name cell G10 WaterRatio , G11 OtherRatio and I9 ScaledStarterRatio.

I9 formula is copied down from I8.

J5 et seq becomes =((SUM(TargetFlours)-ScaledStarterWater)*L5-ScaledStarterWater)*WaterRatio

K5 et seq becomes =((SUM(TargetFlours)-ScaledStarterWater)*L5-ScaledStarterWater)*OtherRatio

I think it is more understandable to calculate the liquid from the actual flour and target hydration rather than going the other path.  Of course, if you maintain the dry ingredient mass and change the liquid the mass of the final dough will be different from the 'target'.  So, arguably, the liquid requirements for hydration variation should be calculated from the original recipe and adjusted using the appropriate 'scale factor' for the different mass involved.

Your group percentages for flour in G5 et seq could become =IF(F5>0,F5/(FlourOne+FlourTwo+FlourThree+(Starter/StarterFlourAndWater)),"")

And for the starter in G8 could become =IF(F8>0,F8/(FlourOne+FlourTwo+FlourThree+(Starter/StarterFlourAndWater))/StarterFlourAndWater,"").  This assumes of course that you want the group percentages to add to 100%.

Complicated, hey!

Farinam

I stumbled on this post through Google as I was hoping someone had already built exactly this type of spreadsheet!  If either of you are still active on the forum, is this the most updated version you have or have you tweaked it since 2014?  Thanks!!!