Bread Recipe Spreadsheet
There are many recipes out there both in books and online -- some good, some not so good. At a point in my bread making journey, I wanted to do some experimentation and try my hand at creating my own recipes or modifying some I liked. I've had a spreadsheet for years but it was pretty simple and didn't offer a full-fledged tool to be creative. So, late last year I decided to kick it up a notch to make it more complete. This is the spreadsheet I've been using for several months now and have enjoyed using it. So, since others might enjoy a tool that helps them be creative and learn more about how things work in a recipe, I decided I'd share it.
Now, there are other spreadsheets out there and if they work for you, great. This one fit my preferences for an interface. What I particularly wanted was one that offered a seamless integration of soakers and other wet/dry ingredients. I also wanted a way to import a recipe so that I could try some changes.
This spreadsheet is available both for download (for those who have the Excel PC app) or with Excel Online for those who don't.
Now, the spreadsheet is pretty involved with a lot of features so I created a YouTube demo/help video. I give a quick demo at the beginning so you can decide if you might want to watch further. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utxhSh25dUk [1]
If you want to download the spreadsheet here's the link:
Download: https://onedrive.live.com/download?cid=B126829C89FACFE6&resid=B126829C89FACFE6%21209&authkey=AG3cm-VoQzojrBA&em=2 (1) [2]
If you don't have the Excel App on your PC and you want to try it, message me with your email address. I need that so I can set up a private spreadsheet on my Microsoft OneDrive for you to use. You can try it there but if you want to use it long term, you'll need a Microsoft account [3]. It's free and will give you your own OneDrive where you can create and store your spreadsheets.
Full Disclosure:
I wanted some automation in the spreadsheet to make life easier so there are Visual Basic script macros in the spreadsheet. They are represented by the buttons at various places and also do some automatic formating and prevent cut/copy pastes which can mess up the formatting and spreadsheet. I cover all that at the end of the Disable Macros video. Now, if you're worried I might have put some malicious code in the macros, you can do a couple of things. If you are using the Excel PC app you can disable the macros before you start using it. Here's a video that explains how to do that:
Disable Macros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQfY6D2FNXc [4]
Or, you can just use the Excel Online version because the macros are disabled there.
I've used this for months and fixed anything that didn't seem right to me, but if someone sees something that doesn't seem right, please let me know. If there is a problem, I'll fix it and post a link to the new version here.
There are many niceties in bread making and bread making techniques but I don't think creating a recipe should be an impediment. Bread making will still have its intuitive (feel) side and adjustments may be necessary, as always, because of the complexity of ingredients and techniques. However, hopefully the spreadsheet will minimize them and make it fun to try new things.