December 1, 2023 - 6:28am
Spreadsheet
I have hope that I might get lucky and find someone that has either made one or can show me how to make a spreadsheet on a Mac Laptop using numbers.I know very little about this. Thats up front my disclosure. I have always been a gluten for punishment in the the fact that I take on things I should never attempt. I love to learn but I am not formally educated. I have been baking for years. My mother taught the boy’s and girls how to be well versed in all things. I get a sense of accomplishment from at least trying to do my own thing. I have no idea if this is a good idea or even feasible. Having said this I am officially open to receive any thoughts, ideas and criticism with a kind heart. Thank you in advance.
Tom C
Share
Comments
I recently created a spreadsheet for bread recipes. It is pretty basic, but it's been working well for me. You put in the total flour (not counting any levain) and the baker's percentages of the ingredients and it gives you the weights. Cells that contain formulas are protected so you can't accidentally type into one and destroy its formula.
I wrote it with LibreOffice Calc, not Excel. I presume when saved to Excel format it would work but I don't have a way to test this. LO is free software and available for any standard computer operating system. If anyone is interested I would be happy to make it available.
I find it especially helpful for scaling recipes to different amounts of flour. You only have to change the cell with the flour amount and everything else is automatically changed. It's also good for changing the hydration level. Here's a screen shot:
bread_recipe_spreadsheet.png
[this post accidentally got duplicated]
I have used a variety of spreadsheets over the years. Most I've likely started with by finding on this site but adapted to my own use. I recently was searching for spreadsheets a bit more elaborate than the one I normally use, to account for add ins, soakers, etc. but I think I will stick to my simple one in the end.
You might try using the google search term "site:thefreshloaf.com spreadsheet" (try using google vs. this sites search function) and you will run across a bunch of past discussions and links to spreadsheets. Probably more than you want, and some are very complicated. You'll have to look through them to see what might fit your needs.
I also ran across an online tool that I tried out and think is pretty handy, but you won't get to dig into the actual behind the scene calculations or make it your own: https://foodgeek.dk/en/bread-calculator/
Think about what you really need from a spreadsheet and start there. You can make it more elaborate as you go, or once you get used to using one. If you make or modify your own you will understand the math and formula better, but it's not for everyone. A few basics I use a spreadsheet for are:
Good luck!
…for my bread workbooks for several years. I’m currently working on revising my basic template (based on the BBGA model) which you are welcome to have. Will try to get around to completing the revision this week. Ping me if I haven’t posted in a week.
Phil