Poolish Build Calculator

How to Use the Poolish Build Calculator

Enter total formula flour, overall dough hydration, the flour share assigned to poolish, and yeast and salt percentages. The poolish uses equal flour and water weights.

The result splits formula flour and water between the poolish and final mix. It also calculates poolish yeast, final salt, and total dough weight.

Poolish Calculation Formula

Poolish flour equals total formula flour multiplied by the poolish flour percentage. Poolish water equals poolish flour because poolish is 100% hydration.

Total dough water equals total flour multiplied by overall hydration. Final-mix flour and water are the totals minus the poolish components.

Worked Poolish Build Example

A formula with 1,000 g flour and 25% flour in poolish uses 250 g poolish flour and 250 g poolish water. At 0.1% poolish yeast, add 0.25 g yeast.

A 70% overall hydration requires 700 g total water. The final mix therefore receives 750 g flour and 450 g water.

Poolish Is a Reallocation, Not Extra Dough

The flour and water in poolish come from the complete formula. They are not added on top of the original totals.

Count the poolish again in the final mix only as a prepared component. Do not repeat its flour or water lines as fresh additions.

Keep Poolish at 100% Hydration

This page defines poolish as equal flour and water by weight. A stiff biga or custom preferment needs a different hydration calculation.

The fixed boundary makes the tool clear and prevents one page from quietly changing preferment type. Use a future Biga Builder for a stiff preferment.

Protect Overall Dough Hydration

Poolish water cannot exceed the water allowed by the complete dough. A high poolish flour share may be impossible in a low-hydration formula.

The calculator stops when that happens. Reduce the poolish share or revise overall hydration using a tested formula.

Treat Yeast Percentage as a Formula Input

The yeast field is a percentage of poolish flour. The tool scales the amount but does not recommend a rate or fermentation schedule.

Yeast choice, time, temperature, and flour affect the build. Follow a trusted method rather than using arithmetic as a readiness forecast.

Calculate Salt on Total Flour

Salt percentage is based on total formula flour and stays in the final mix in this simple model. The poolish itself contains flour, water, and the entered yeast amount.

If a specific process places salt elsewhere, document that method separately. Do not change the total salt simply because flour was split across stages.

Measure Small Yeast Quantities Carefully

A low yeast percentage may produce a value below the resolution of a normal kitchen scale. Use suitable equipment or a tested larger batch when accuracy matters.

Do not round a small yeast value upward without recording the change. Rounding can materially alter the intended formula.

What the Poolish Result Does Not Predict

The calculator does not predict maturity, aroma, gluten condition, dough strength, fermentation time, or bake quality. It only divides formula weights.

Export the poolish and final-mix lines, then keep process conditions with the recipe. Use observed results to refine future formulas.

Choose the Poolish Flour Share Deliberately

The entered percentage controls how much total flour moves into the poolish stage. The tool does not label one percentage as ideal because formulas and production schedules differ.

Begin with a tested recipe or documented trial. Changing the share affects the final-mix split even when total flour and overall hydration stay fixed.

Confirm the Two-Stage Flour and Water Totals

Add poolish flour to final-mix flour and confirm the sum equals total formula flour. Add poolish water to final-mix water and confirm the sum equals total dough water.

These checks show that ingredients were reallocated rather than duplicated. They are especially useful when converting a straight dough formula into a two-stage process.

Plan Mixer Capacity and Ingredient Sequence

Poolish total and final-mix additions must fit the bowl and mixer. The result provides weights but does not prescribe mixing order, development, or rest periods.

Keep the prepared poolish line visible in the final recipe. This prevents someone from adding its flour and water again as fresh ingredients.

Poolish Builder Limits and Next Steps

The page does not recommend yeast rate, temperature, fermentation length, maturity, or refrigeration. The entered yeast percentage is simply converted into a weight.

Follow a tested poolish method for biological and scheduling decisions. Save actual yeast, temperature, and readiness notes beside the exported formula split.

Poolish Build Calculator FAQs

Sources and Further Reading

Explore Related Cooking Calculators

Use the Baker Percentage Calculator for direct formula percentages, or return to the Cooking Calculators hub.