What this calculator does
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, with flour itself always 100%. A dough with 1,000 g flour and 670 g water is 67% hydration, and the same recipe scales to any batch size by keeping those percentages and changing only the flour.
Hydration is the number that describes the dough more than any other. Around 60% gives a firm, easily handled dough suited to sandwich loaves and bagels. Around 75% gives a slack, open crumb of the kind wanted in ciabatta and many sourdoughs, and it is considerably harder to shape.
The formula
Each ingredient weight is divided by the flour weight and expressed as a percentage, so flour is 100% by definition and everything else is measured against it. The total dough weight is the straight sum of the ingredients. Percentages can exceed 100 for ingredients heavier than the flour, which is why the total percentage of a recipe is well above 100.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hydration | Water as a percentage of flour weight. The single most descriptive number about a dough. |
| Baker percentage | Any ingredient as a percentage of flour weight, with flour fixed at 100%. |
| Salt percentage | Typically 1.8 to 2.2%. Below that the bread tastes flat; above it, fermentation slows noticeably. |
| Total dough weight | The sum of all ingredients, used to divide the batch into loaves. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Flour (g) | Total flour weight in grams, which is the 100% reference. Where several flours are used, add them together. |
| Water (g) | Total water weight in grams. Include any liquid that behaves as water, such as milk, counted at its own weight. |
| Salt (g) | Salt weight in grams. |
| Yeast (g) | Yeast weight in grams. |
When to use it
Scaling a recipe to a different batch size
Percentages stay fixed while the flour weight changes, which makes scaling a single multiplication rather than a set of separate conversions.
Comparing two recipes
Two recipes written in different units and batch sizes become directly comparable once both are expressed as percentages of flour.
Adjusting hydration deliberately
Moving hydration up or down a few percent is the main lever on crumb structure and handling, and doing it by percentage keeps everything else in proportion.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
What hydration does each water weight give?
A fixed 1,000 g of flour with the water weight increasing.
| Water | Hydration | Salt | Yeast | Total dough weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600 g | 60.0% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 1,630 g |
| 670 g | 67.0% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 1,700 g |
| 750 g | 75.0% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 1,780 g |
| 850 g | 85.0% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 1,880 g |
Questions
What is a good hydration percentage?
It depends on what you are making. 60 to 65% suits sandwich loaves, rolls and anything that needs to hold a shape. 70 to 80% gives the open crumb of ciabatta and many sourdoughs at the cost of much harder handling. Beyond 85% the dough is close to a batter and needs a tin.
Why is flour always 100%?
Because it is the reference everything else is measured against, which is what makes the system scale. Percentages therefore add to well over 100 across a whole recipe, which is correct and not an error: the figure is a ratio to flour, not a share of the total.
How much salt should bread have?
Typically 1.8 to 2.2% of flour weight. Below about 1.5% the bread tastes noticeably flat, and much above 2.5% fermentation slows appreciably because salt inhibits yeast. Two percent is the usual default.
Does a starter or preferment count in the percentages?
Yes, and it needs splitting. The flour in the starter adds to the total flour and the water in it adds to the total water, so a recipe using a 100% hydration starter has both figures increased by half the starter weight each. Ignoring it understates hydration substantially.
For converting yeast types, see the yeast converter. For cup measurements converted to weight, see the cups to grams calculator.