The Fresh Loaf

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TIPS: dough ball sizes and weights for common bread shapes

cranbo's picture
cranbo

TIPS: dough ball sizes and weights for common bread shapes

I wanted a quick reference list for dough ball sizes for common items I bake: breads, rolls, pizza. I haven't found one on TFL, maybe it's here, but no luck yet. So I figured I'd share what I have so far.

Pizzas

12" pizza, personal (plate-sized): 175g (thin) - 250g (thicker)
14" pizza, thin crust, NYC style: 450g
14" pizza, medium "american" crust style: 540g
16" pizza, thin crust, NYC style: 567g

Sourdough and Rustic Loaves

Regular free-form loaf (boule) of sourdough: 1000g
Small free-form loaf (boule): 750g
"Standard" loaf-pan loaf (9.25" x5.25"x2.75"), heavier multigrain bread or sourdough: 1100g

Other Breads

"Standard" loaf-pan loaf (9.25" x5.25"x2.75"), light lean bread: 800g

12" hoagie/sandwich roll: 227g
6"/7" hoagie/sandwich roll: 113g

Standard baguette: 340g
Home oven baguette: 200-250g

Large pretzel: 160g
Bagel: 96-113g

Burger & hot dog buns: 92g
Small soft dinner roll: 48g

Feel free to comment or add other recommended values.

Comments

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

Thanks much.

anna

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I have oddball size pans as well as the standard ones and I have found this useful to do for all my pans. Some have the optimal weight written on the bottom in permanent merker. 

Good info!

GAPOMA's picture
GAPOMA

I was looking for this information on TFL just last week.  Thank you!

And thanks too for doing it in gram weights!!

- Greg

G-man's picture
G-man

Added to favorites. Thank you so much.

copyu's picture
copyu

This is one BIG time-saver! Thank you very much...

paulm's picture
paulm

Here is a list I have accumulated over the years.  It also includes the approximate flour amounts, unfortunately in cups (volume) and not weight.  I have only recently (since finding TFL) begun weighing ingredients.

Dough Weight to Pan / Loaf Size
Artesian
· A round 8" brotform banneton needs between 0.5 and 1 lb (227 - 454 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 1-2 cups of total flour. Makes a "small boule".
· A round 9" brotform banneton needs between 1 and 2 lb (454 - 901 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 2-3 cups of total flour. Makes a "medium boule".
· A round 10" brotform banneton needs between 2 and 3 lb (907 - 1361 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 4-5 cups of total flour. Makes a "large boule".
· A round 11 3/4" brotform banneton needs between 3 and 4 lb (1362 - 1531 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 7-8 cups of total flour. Makes a "mega boule".
· 8" x 4 1/4 " Round Banneton 1 - 1 ½ lb of dough 454 - 680 g
· 10" x 4 3/4 " Round Banneton 1 1/2 - 2 lb of dough 680 - 907 g
· 12" x 6" Round Banneton 3 - 4 lb of dough 1361 - 1531 g

Loaf Pans
· A 9x5x2 3/4 loaf pan needs between 1.25 and 2 lb (680 - 907 g ) of dough, which roughly means recipes with about 3-4 cups total flour. This creates a "large" loaf.
· A 8x4x2 1/2 needs between 0.875 and 1.5 lb (394 - 680 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 2-3 cups of total flour. Makes a "standard" loaf.
· A 7x3x2 1/2 needs between 0.6 and 1 lb (272 - 454 g) of dough, which roughly means recipes with 1.5-2 cups of total flour. Makes a "junior" loaf.
· Jumbo Pan - 10x4.5-inches - 4-5 cups flour - 2 lb (907 g) dough
· Quick Bread Pan - 9x5-inches - 4 cups flour - 2 lb (907 g) dough
· Standard/Large Pan - 8.5x4.5 - 3 cups flour - 1.5 lb (680 g) dough
· Medium Pan - 7.5x3.5 - 2.5 cups flour - 1 lb (454 g) dough
· Small - 5-3/4x3-3/4 - 1.5 cups flour - 8 oz (227 g) dough
· Miniature - 4.5x2.5 - 3/4 c. flour - 6 oz (170 g) dough
· 8x4x2 1/2 needs 1.5 lbs (680 g) dough
· 9x5x2 3/4 needs 1.3 x 1.5 = 1.95 lbs (884 g) dough
· 10x5 needs 1.3 x 1.95 = 2.54 lbs (1152 g) dough

 

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Nice paulm, thanks for sharing these values!

Daluke's picture
Daluke

Thanks for this!

paulm's picture
paulm

You're welcome Cranbo.  I want to stress that as with most things I've learned from the contributors to this great forum, the information is just a starting point (all be it, a fairly good one) from which you can tweak it to your own preferances and habits.

Happy Baking

Paul

Laddavan's picture
Laddavan

Thank you that you shared with us.

foodslut's picture
foodslut

My own meagre contribution, from when I calculate bigger batches of pizza dough: 

1 x dinner-plate sized personal pizza = 250g

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Yes, that's a good one, I'll add it to my list. 

pjaj's picture
pjaj

I usually bake my loaves in "2lb" loaf pans, approximately 9" x 5" x 3" / 23.5cm x 13cm x 7.5cm - similar in size to that quoted in the first post.

Starting with 1500gr flour and 450gr water plus yeast, salt, sugar and oil I end up with about 2450-2500 gr of dough which makes 2 loaves. In other words 1230-1250gr of dough each, half again as much as the first post. Therefore I suspect that this question is a bit like "How long is a piece of string?". It depends on what type of loaf you are baking, how much you let it rise, how "substantial" you like your bread and other factors. Mine are "grannary" or wholemeal types, fairly substantial but the not that heavy, with a well developed crumb structure. On the second rise, after shaping and panning, I like to let the dough rise until it is nearly in danger of overflowing the pan, that is well rounded above the top edge. Oven spring then adds a further centimetre or so to the height.

I have experimentd with 1000gr of dough per loaf (2 batches split into 5) but we didn't like the results as much.

cranbo's picture
cranbo

yes, I should update the chart. I've found this as well: a light lean bread might do well as an 800g ball, but for heavier, denser, more rustic sourdough or multigrain loaves done in a pan, I think 1000g (or maybe slightly larger) would be better. 

deblacksmith's picture
deblacksmith

For most of your pan sizes I use a little less dough by weight.  For example I use about 540 g for a stardard 1 pound loaf pan -- the 8.5 x 4.5 size.  For hamburger and hot dog buns I use 75 g each.  These work well for me.  

Also if I have a dough that a given weight works well in one loaf pan I use the volume of the other pan to set a ratio of dough size.  How to get volume?  I use my 1 pound loaf pan at the standard and measure by the weight of water to fill it.  I then do the same with smaller or large pan and then reference at ratio based on the weights.  YMMV but I have found this a quick way to get a ratio of loaf pan sizes.

Dave

 

Yundah's picture
Yundah

Thank you, grazie, merci and danke!  This is now printed and in my Grimoire Panis (my bread recipe book)

Daluke's picture
Daluke

Was looking for an approximate pre-bake dough weight for a single typical hamburger bun/roll; your post here seems like it'll do the trick. Nice to see the other item weights as well, like the ones for pizza... nice!

Thanks

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Sure thing! :)

becca_jwh22's picture
becca_jwh22

Hi i am looking for some clarification & help relatively new to home baking the weights posted are they to be done after 1st rise after knocking dough back? Then weigh what you need then form the shape let it do 2nd rise then bake? Sorry if this is obvious i just wanted to double check. Also does anyone have an amount of dough needed to get the correct size for a 12inch long 3inch wide & around 2-2.5inch deep sub rolls which would be baked in a special silicone mold with holes that can bake 5 sub rolls at a time all help would be greatly appreciated 

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Weights are measured after the dough has been kneaded and portioned for final shaping. 

For your sub rolls, another poster suggested 350g as a good place to start for those 12" sub rolls. So weigh your kneaded dough, when you're ready to shape your rolls, this is when you will weigh each individually. 

Hope this helps! 

JerseyMilker's picture
JerseyMilker

I tried making subs with the above weight, way to little dough. We do our doughs for sub buns at 350grams with a final cooked weight of 306. That gives us a beautiful foot long (12 inch) sub. We are using sub bun pans and 350 is a perfect weight. 

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Great point. Type of flour and other factors will have an impact on your rolls. Thanks for sharing! 

thog's picture
thog

nice to see you're still here cranbo

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Yep still here, haven't checked back in a while because life has gotten more complicated and less time for baking experiments (sadly) but there is new joy in my life from new family. 

Nowadays when I bake it's usually an "eyeballed" recipe by weight: 500g flour, 350-380g water, 2.5g yeast, 1.5g salt, maybe a couple of teaspoons of sugar or honey. Sometimes I do no-knead with lots of stretch-and-folds, sometimes I mix in my Kitchenaid...depends on my mood and whether I want to clean the KA :)