Baker's Percentage Calculator (Bread Hydration)

Baker's Percentage Guide

What Baker's Percentages Are?

Baker's percentage is the standard way professional and serious home bakers describe bread recipes. The convention: flour always = 100% (the reference). All other ingredients expressed as % of flour weight. Why this matters: scales perfectly. Want twice as much bread? Double everything proportionally. Compare recipes easily — a '75% hydration' bread is wetter than a '60% hydration' bread regardless of absolute weights. Spot mistakes — recipes with 'unusual' percentages stand out immediately. Adjusting a recipe up or down in batch size is simple, since every ingredient scales by the same proportion relative to the flour.

What should I know about Hydration Ranges by Bread Type?

Low hydration (55-65%): bagels (50-55%) — chewy, dense. Pretzels. Some pizza dough. Easier to handle, tighter crumb. Medium hydration (65-72%): tin loaves. Pita. Most everyday breads. Balance of handling and crumb structure. Higher hydration (72-80%): baguettes. Sourdough country breads. Ciabatta. More open crumb, blistered crust. Requires skill to handle. Very high hydration (80-100%): focaccia. Roman al taglio pizza. Ciabatta extreme. Liquid texture — uses bench scrapers, can't really 'knead'

What's the key thing to understand about Sourdough Starter Math?

When using sourdough starter, you need to account for the flour and water in the starter itself. Typical starter is 100% hydration (equal flour and water by weight). 100g of 100% hydration starter = 50g flour + 50g water. Calculation adjustment: target total flour 1000g, 75% hydration. Adding 200g starter (= 100g flour + 100g water). Effectively your dough already has 100g flour + 100g water before adding more. To hit final 1000g flour total: add 900g more flour, since the starter itself contributes the remaining 100g. To hit 75% hydration on 1000g total flour: add 750g water minus whatever water the starter already contributes.

What should I know about Practical Recipe Examples?

Classic French baguette: 100% flour. 65% water. 2% salt. 1% fresh yeast (0.4% instant dry). 18-20 hour cold ferment. Tartine country loaf (Chad Robertson): 100% flour (90% strong white, 10% wholemeal). 75% water. 2% salt. 15-20% sourdough starter. 12-hour bulk ferment, 4-hour proof. Focaccia: 100% flour. 80% water. 2% salt. 1% instant yeast. 5% olive oil. Plus oil on top before baking. Sandwich loaf: 100% flour. 65% water. 2% salt. 1% instant yeast. 5% milk powder. 8% sugar. 5% butter. Soft, sweet enriched dough typical of a supermarket-style sandwich loaf.