Hydration Level
🧫 Starter Breakdown
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Enter your original recipe and a new target flour weight to scale everything proportionally.
What Is Bread Hydration?
Bread hydration is the ratio of water to flour in a recipe, expressed as a percentage using baker's math. It is the single variable that most affects dough texture, crumb structure, and how difficult the dough is to handle. A 65% hydration dough is stiff and smooth — easy to shape and great for beginners. A 78% hydration dough is soft and extensible, producing the open, irregular crumb typical of artisan sourdough. A 90% hydration dough is poured into a pan, not shaped by hand.
Baker's hydration is always calculated as: water weight ÷ flour weight × 100. A recipe with 500g flour and 375g water is 75% hydration — regardless of how many loaves you're making or what other ingredients are included.
How Baker's Percentages Work
Baker's percentage is a ratio system where flour always equals 100%, and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of total flour weight. This makes recipes instantly scalable — multiply every ingredient by the same factor without changing the ratios.
- Flour: always 100% (your base reference)
- Water: equals your target hydration %
- Salt: typically 1.8–2.2% of flour weight
- Starter/levain: typically 10–25% of flour weight
- Yeast: 0.2–1.0% depending on rise time and temperature
To scale a recipe: pick a target flour weight, then multiply every ingredient percentage by that weight. The hydration stays the same — only the total quantity changes.
Hydration Ranges by Bread Type
| Hydration | Bread Type | Dough Feel | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55–65% | Bagels, pretzels, sandwich loaves | Stiff, easy to shape | Standard kneading |
| 65–72% | Beginner sourdough, baguettes | Smooth, workable | Standard kneading or folding |
| 72–80% | Classic sourdough, country loaves | Slightly sticky | Stretch-and-fold required |
| 80–88% | Ciabatta, rustic sourdough | Slack, wet | Folds only — no kneading |
| 88%+ | Focaccia, pan loaves | Very wet, poured | Pan bake only |
Adjusting for Whole Grain and Specialty Flours
Different flours absorb water at different rates due to their bran content, protein level, and particle size. When you substitute whole grain or specialty flours, the same hydration percentage will feel wetter or drier than a pure bread flour dough.
| Flour Type | Absorption vs Bread Flour | Adjustment Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Bread Flour | Baseline | No adjustment needed |
| All-Purpose | Slightly less | Reduce water by 2–3% |
| Whole Wheat | +5–10% more | Increase water or reduce WW % |
| Rye Flour | +10–15% more | Use sparingly; expect sticky dough |
| Spelt | Slightly less | Fragile gluten — handle gently |
| Einkorn | Less | Reduce hydration by ~10% |
A blend calculator approach: set each flour at its percentage of total flour, then add water to reach your target hydration. This calculator handles multi-flour blends automatically.
Eggs in Bread Dough
Eggs contribute water to your dough and must be counted toward total hydration. A large egg weighs about 50g, of which roughly 74% is water (~37g). This calculator accounts for egg water content so your actual hydration stays accurate.
Enriched breads like brioche and challah use eggs and fat to create a tender, rich crumb. The fat in egg yolks also tightens gluten slightly, which is why enriched doughs can handle lower listed hydration percentages than they appear.
Sourdough Starter in the Hydration Formula
This trips up many bakers: your starter contributes both flour and water to the dough. A 100% hydration starter is half flour, half water by weight. A 100g starter adds 50g flour and 50g water to your recipe.
This calculator accounts for the flour and water in your starter when computing actual hydration — so the numbers you see reflect what's actually going into the dough.
Tips for Working with High-Hydration Dough
High-hydration doughs (75%+) require different technique than standard bread. The dough is too wet to knead — instead, bakers use stretch-and-fold methods to develop gluten without adding flour.
- Wet hands, not flour: Flour stiffens the dough and changes the hydration. Use wet hands when handling sticky dough.
- Bench rest before shaping: Allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it strengthens enough to hold its shape briefly.
- Cold proof in the refrigerator: An overnight cold ferment (8–12 hours) firms up the dough significantly, making it much easier to score and load into the oven.
- Bake in a Dutch oven: The enclosed steam environment sets the crust quickly and helps the loaf hold its shape during oven spring.
- Start lower: If you're struggling, drop hydration by 3–5% and work your way up as your technique improves.
How This Calculator Works
Enter your total flour weight, target hydration percentage, salt percentage, and starter details. The calculator outputs exact ingredient weights in grams, baker's percentages for each ingredient, a hydration level indicator, and a complete starter breakdown showing how much flour and water your levain contributes to the total dough. Flour blends, eggs, and milk are all factored into actual hydration calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is bread hydration?
Bread hydration is the ratio of water to flour in a recipe, expressed as a percentage using baker's math. A recipe with 500g flour and 375g water has 75% hydration (375 ÷ 500 × 100). It's the single most important variable controlling dough texture and crumb structure.
What hydration should I use for sourdough?
Most sourdough recipes fall between 70–80% hydration. Beginners should start around 70–72%, which is manageable without specialized technique. Experienced bakers often work with 75–80% for a more open crumb. Above 80%, dough becomes very slack and requires confident handling.
How does hydration affect bread texture?
Higher hydration produces a more open, irregular crumb with larger holes and a chewier crust. Lower hydration creates a tighter, denser crumb that's easier to shape. Very high hydration (85%+) results in a very wet dough best baked in a pan, like focaccia or a wet sandwich loaf.
Does starter hydration affect total dough hydration?
Yes — and this trips up many bakers. Your starter contributes both flour and water to the dough. A 100% hydration starter is half flour, half water by weight. So 100g of starter adds 50g flour and 50g water. This calculator accounts for starter hydration when computing your actual dough hydration.
What is baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a ratio of the total flour weight, with flour always equal to 100%. Salt is typically 1.8–2.2%, starter 10–25%, and water equals your hydration percentage. This system makes scaling recipes trivial — multiply every ingredient by the same factor.
How do whole grain flours affect hydration?
Whole wheat absorbs 5–10% more water than bread flour, and rye absorbs 10–15% more due to their bran content. When substituting whole grains, you usually need to increase your water slightly or reduce the whole grain percentage to maintain a workable dough consistency.
Do eggs count toward bread hydration?
Yes. A large egg is roughly 74% water by weight — about 37g of water in a 50g egg. That water contributes to total dough hydration and must be counted. This calculator automatically accounts for egg water content so your hydration percentage stays accurate for enriched doughs like brioche and challah.
What is the difference between 65% and 80% hydration?
At 65%, dough is stiff and easy to shape — ideal for bagels and sandwich loaves. At 80%, dough is slack and sticky, requiring stretch-and-fold techniques instead of kneading, and produces the open, irregular crumb typical of ciabatta or rustic sourdough. The 15-point difference is significant in handling experience.
How do I scale a bread recipe?
Divide your new target flour weight by the original flour weight to get a scale factor, then multiply every other ingredient by that factor. Hydration percentage stays the same. The Scale tab in this calculator handles all the math — enter your original recipe and new flour weight and it outputs the full scaled recipe.
What hydration is best for focaccia?
Focaccia typically uses 80–90% hydration — sometimes higher. The dough is very wet, poured or pressed into an oiled pan rather than shaped by hand. The high water content creates the characteristic airy, open crumb with large bubbles and a crispy, olive-oil-fried bottom crust.