Baker’s percentages & dough hydration
This calculator is designed to show you how your dough is put together. Flour is treated as 100%, and water, starter, and salt are expressed as percentages of that flour weight. You’ll also see your total hydration, which gives you a clearer sense of how soft, firm, or wet your dough will be.
Enter your dough formula
Most bakers use 500–1000 g flour.
Typical hydration ranges: 60–75%.
Common range: 10–30% of flour weight.
Most starters are 100% hydration.
Typical salt level: 1.8–2.2% of flour.
Total hydration: 0.0%
Baker’s percentages (flour = 100%):
Flour: 0%
Water: 0.0%
Starter: 0.0%
Salt: 0.00%
How to use this hydration calculator
Start by entering the total flour in your dough, in grams. Then add the water, starter, and salt amounts from your recipe. If your starter isn’t equal parts flour and water, adjust the starter hydration field so the calculator can correctly split your starter into its flour and water portions.
Once your numbers are in, the tool will show your overall hydration and the baker’s percentage for each ingredient. From there, you can experiment: increase the water to see how a higher hydration might feel, reduce the starter to slow things down, or adjust the salt to match your taste and schedule.
What are baker’s percentages?
Baker’s percentages are a way of writing bread formulas that makes them easier to compare and scale. Flour is always set to 100%. Every other ingredient is written as a percentage of that flour weight. For example, if you use 800 g of flour and 560 g of water, your dough is at 70% hydration.
Once you know the percentages, you’re no longer tied to a single batch size. If you like a dough at 70% hydration with 2% salt and 20% starter, you can make one loaf, three loaves, or a full market bake simply by changing the flour weight and letting the percentages guide the rest.
What does hydration level tell you?
Hydration is the ratio of total water to total flour in your dough, including the water that comes from your starter. A dough around 60–65% hydration is usually on the firmer side and easier to handle, often giving a tighter crumb that works well for sandwich loaves or pan breads. As you move into the 70–75% range, doughs become softer, stickier, and more open in the crumb.
Hydration doesn’t tell the whole story-fermentation time, temperature, flour strength, and handling all play a role-but it is one of the most noticeable levers. A shift from 68% to 73% hydration can change how a dough feels under your hands and how it opens up in the oven, even if the rest of the formula stays the same.
How flour type changes hydration needs
Different flours absorb water at different rates. Strong bread flours and higher‑protein blends can usually handle more water than softer all‑purpose flours. Whole grain flours, like whole wheat or rye, often need even more water because of their bran and fiber content.
That means a 72% hydration dough made with mostly white bread flour might feel loose and stretchy, while a 72% dough with a high percentage of whole grain could feel comparatively firm. Use the hydration number as a guide, then let the dough itself confirm whether you’re in the right range for your flour and environment.
Common hydration ranges for sourdough
Many home and small‑batch bakers find themselves working in a few familiar ranges:
• Around 60–65%: firmer doughs, easier to shape, good for sandwich loaves and pan breads.
• Around 68–72%: a balanced range for many sourdough boules and batards-soft but still manageable.
• Around 75% and above: higher hydration doughs that can produce a more open crumb but often require more experience and gentle handling.
These are not rules, just starting points. Your flour, climate, and comfort level will nudge you toward the ranges that feel right in your hands.
Why hydration and percentages matter for your baking
When you understand baker’s percentages, you can move beyond copying recipes and start shaping formulas that fit your life. You can scale a dough up for a market day, down for a single loaf, or adjust the hydration to match a new flour without feeling like you’re guessing.
Over time, you’ll learn the hydration range that feels natural to you, the salt level that tastes right, and the starter percentage that fits your schedule. This calculator is here to make those patterns visible, so each bake teaches you something you can actually use next time.
Sourdough is built on repetition and small adjustments. Every dough-whether it lands exactly where you hoped or not-adds to your sense of how flour, water, and time interact. Clear numbers don’t replace feel, but they make it much easier to connect what you feel in the bowl to what you see on the page.
- - These calculators are intended for general planning and learning. Sourdough fermentation can vary widely based on temperature, flour type, hydration, starter strength, feeding history, container shape, and your kitchen environment. Because every starter behaves differently, the numbers shown here should be treated as guidelines rather than exact results.
- - Pay attention to how your starter actually behaves. If it peaks earlier or later than expected, adjust the feeding ratio, temperature, or timing based on what you see. Real‑world conditions will always influence your starter more than any calculator.
- - This tool is not a replacement for personal judgment, safe food‑handling practices, or hands‑on experience. Use it as a helpful reference, and trust your own observations when making decisions.
- - Every starter is unique, so treat these numbers as a starting point and let your own results guide your adjustments over time.