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. Adj

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'

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 flour. To hit 75% hydration on 1000g flour:

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, swe