Fresh Milled Baking 101
Fresh Milled Baking Log & Printable Worksheet
Record grain blends, flour and liquid weights, dough temperature, rises, and results. Print a free worksheet to compare two fresh-milled bakes.
by Eleen Beisner · Published
A baking log helps you remember what actually happened between milling your grain and slicing your loaf. You do not need perfect measurements to start; write down what you know and leave the rest blank. This is a record of your own bakes, not a tested formula or a replacement for your recipe.
Print the two-attempt worksheet
Use the “Open printable worksheet” button on this page to open a blank sheet for two bakes. You can type into it before printing, or print it blank and write by hand. Keep one copy with your recipe so you can compare your next attempt.
How to record a bake
- Write the recipe name, date, and grain blend. Record each grain's weight if you know it; a name alone is useful too.
- Record the total flour weight and the liquid you actually added, including additions made after mixing. If your recipe uses milk, eggs, or other liquids, list them separately rather than calling the total “water hydration.”
- Note dough temperature only if you measured it. Write what the dough felt like after mixing and resting.
- Record when each rise started and ended, and what you saw: growth, bubbles, surface feel, or how it handled. A clock alone cannot tell you when a dough is ready.
- After baking and cooling, note crust, crumb, flavor, and anything you would change next time.
When you make it again, fill out the second attempt. Compare both sets of notes before changing one thing at a time. You can skip any field that does not apply to your recipe.
Read alongside your notes
For more on what different grains are like, see the wheat berry guide. For the reasoning behind liquid adjustments, read the hydration guide. If you are adapting a white-flour recipe, use the recipe conversion guide. If a loaf did not turn out as expected, the troubleshooting guide gives you specific things to check.
For a starting point, bake a published recipe such as Fresh Milled Rosemary Garlic Sandwich Bread or Fresh Milled Pesto and Mozzarella Pull-Apart Loaf and log what happened. Follow the recipe's instructions first; the worksheet records your experience rather than prescribing amounts or rise times.