Baker’s Percentage & Hydration Dough Calculator
Baker’s Percentage & Hydration Calculator
Calculate total flour weight, water hydration, salt, and levain baker’s percentages for artisan sourdough and yeasted doughs.
Formula Batch Yield
360 g
10.0 g
100 g
970 g
(function() {
function calculate() {
var flour = parseFloat(document.getElementById(‘flour_weight’).value) || 0;
var hyd = parseFloat(document.getElementById(‘hydration_pct’).value) || 0;
var salt = parseFloat(document.getElementById(‘salt_pct’).value) || 0;
var lev = parseFloat(document.getElementById(‘levain_pct’).value) || 0;
var water = (flour * hyd / 100);
var saltW = (flour * salt / 100);
var levW = (flour * lev / 100);
var total = flour + water + saltW + levW;
document.getElementById(‘res_water’).innerText = Math.round(water) + ‘ g’;
document.getElementById(‘res_salt’).innerText = saltW.toFixed(1) + ‘ g’;
document.getElementById(‘res_levain’).innerText = Math.round(levW) + ‘ g’;
document.getElementById(‘res_total’).innerText = Math.round(total) + ‘ g’;
}
[‘flour_weight’, ‘hydration_pct’, ‘salt_pct’, ‘levain_pct’].forEach(function(id) {
var el = document.getElementById(id);
if(el) { el.addEventListener(‘input’, calculate); el.addEventListener(‘change’, calculate); }
});
calculate();
})();
The Science of Baker’s Percentages
In professional baking, ingredients are universally scaled relative to total flour weight, defined as exactly 100%. This mathematical convention eliminates the scaling errors inherent in volumetric measurements and allows bakeries to adjust batch yields from a single test loaf (500g flour) to commercial production tubs (50kg flour) without altering fermentation dynamics.
Hydration Tiers and Crumb Structure
- 55%–62% (Low Hydration): Dense, tight-crumb breads such as bagels, pretzels, and traditional sandwich sandwich loaves. These doughs require intensive gluten matrix development via mechanical kneading or extensive bench work.
- 65%–72% (Standard Artisan): The sweet spot for beginner to intermediate sourdough loaves and boules. Provides open, tender crumb with sufficient structural surface tension for high oven spring without spreading.
- 75%–85% (High Hydration / Open Crumb): Ciabatta, focaccia, and modern rustic sourdough batards. Requires strong high-protein flour (12.5%–14% protein) with high water absorption capacity and coil-fold bulk fermentation techniques.
Levain & Salt Interaction
Salt serves dual physiological roles in dough fermentation: it tightens the gluten protein network by shielding ionic charges on glutenin proteins, and regulates yeast metabolism. Standard commercial formulas adhere strictly to 1.8% to 2.2% salt. Dropping below 1.5% leads to slack, sticky dough and rapid over-fermentation, while exceeding 2.5% severely inhibits enzymatic activity.