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Bread Hydration Calculator
Use this free bread hydration calculator to work out any bread recipe in baker's percentages. Enter your flour weight and hydration percent and it gives you the exact water, salt, and yeast or starter weights, plus the total dough weight. Or switch to reverse mode and enter the flour and water from a recipe you already have to find its hydration percent.
Salt defaults to 2%, the standard for almost all bread. Starter defaults to 20% of the flour weight for sourdough; yeast defaults to 0.7% for yeasted dough.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Flour (100%) | 500 g |
| Water | 350 g |
| Salt (2%) | 10 g |
| Starter (20%) | 100 g |
| Total dough weight | 960 g |
| Hydration | 70% |
| Flour in cups (approx.) | 4 cups |
How it works
Bakers do not write recipes in cups, they write them in baker's percentages, and this calculator speaks that language. In baker's percentages the flour is always 100 percent, and every other ingredient is a percentage of the flour weight. If a recipe calls for 500 grams of flour at 70 percent hydration, the water is 70 percent of 500 grams, which is 350 grams. Salt at 2 percent is 10 grams, and starter at 20 percent is 100 grams.
Hydration is the single most important number in a bread recipe, because it decides how the dough feels and how the crumb turns out. Low hydration doughs, around 55 to 62 percent, are firm and easy to handle: sandwich loaves, bagels, and pizza dough live here. Medium hydration, 63 to 70 percent, gives a soft dough with a good open crumb and is the range for most sourdough and everyday loaves. High hydration, 71 to 80 percent, gives a slack, sticky dough that needs gentle handling but bakes into a loaf with big irregular holes, like ciabatta.
Water weight = flour weight × hydration % ÷ 100
Salt weight = flour weight × salt % ÷ 100
Starter weight = flour weight × starter % ÷ 100
Total dough weight = flour + water + salt + starter or yeast + oil
Salt is set at 2 percent by default because that is the standard for almost all bread, from a white sandwich loaf to a dark rye. At 2 percent the salt seasons the bread, strengthens the gluten so the dough holds its shape, and slows the yeast just enough that the dough ferments evenly. Much less than 1.5 percent and the bread tastes flat and rises too fast; much more than 2.5 percent and the rise drags.
The leavening is where the two dough types split. A sourdough uses a starter, a spoonful of live culture, at about 20 percent of the flour weight. That is 100 grams of starter for 500 grams of flour. A yeasted dough uses commercial yeast instead, usually 0.5 to 1 percent of the flour weight for a slow overnight rise, or 1 to 2 percent for a quick same-day loaf. The calculator defaults to 0.7 percent, which is about 3.5 grams of instant yeast, roughly one teaspoon, for 500 grams of flour.
One fine point: a starter is about half flour and half water, so it technically adds both to the dough. Strictly, the flour and water inside the starter count toward the true hydration. At 20 percent starter the difference is only one or two points, so home bakers almost always ignore it and work out hydration from the flour and water they add by hand, and this calculator follows that convention.
Reverse mode is for reading a recipe you already have. Enter its flour and water weights and the calculator divides water by flour to give the hydration percent, then tells you what kind of dough that is: firm, medium, soft, or very wet. That is useful when a recipe gives weights but no hydration, or when you want to copy a loaf you liked and need to know how wet its dough was.
Worked example
You are baking a sourdough loaf with 500 grams of flour at 70 percent hydration, 2 percent salt, and 20 percent starter.
Step 1: Water — 500 × 70 ÷ 100 = 350 grams of water.
Step 2: Salt — 500 × 2 ÷ 100 = 10 grams of salt.
Step 3: Starter — 500 × 20 ÷ 100 = 100 grams of starter.
Step 4: Total dough — 500 + 350 + 10 + 100 = 960 grams of dough.
Step 5: Check — 350 ÷ 500 × 100 = 70 percent hydration, as planned.
The result is 350 grams of water, 10 grams of salt, and 100 grams of starter for 500 grams of flour, making 960 grams of dough.
FAQ
What is bread hydration percentage?
Hydration is the weight of the water in a dough divided by the weight of the flour, times 100. It is always measured against the flour, not against the whole dough. A dough with 500 grams of flour and 350 grams of water is at 70 percent hydration, because 350 divided by 500 is 0.70. The flour is always 100 percent in baker's percentages, and every other ingredient is a percentage of the flour weight.
What hydration should I use for sourdough?
Most sourdough sits between 68 and 75 percent hydration. Start at 70 percent if you are new to it: the dough is soft and open-crumbed but still holds its shape for shaping. White flour handles 70 to 75 percent well, while whole wheat flour drinks more water and often needs 75 to 80 percent. Below 65 percent the crumb is tight and dense; above 80 percent the dough is slack and hard to shape without good technique.
Does the starter count toward hydration?
Yes, strictly speaking it does, because a starter is roughly half flour and half water by weight. A 100 percent hydration starter adds equal weights of flour and water to the dough. In practice, most home bakers ignore the starter's contribution when they talk about hydration, because at 20 percent starter the difference is only a couple of points. This calculator follows the common home-baking convention and works out hydration from the flour and water you add, and it lists the starter separately so you can see the full recipe.
How much salt should I put in bread dough?
Use 2 percent salt by flour weight, which is the standard for almost all bread. For 500 grams of flour that is 10 grams of salt, about 2 teaspoons of fine table salt or 2 and a half teaspoons of coarse kosher salt. Salt controls the yeast so the dough does not over-ferment, strengthens the gluten, and adds most of the flavor. Below 1.5 percent bread tastes flat, and above 2.5 percent it slows the rise noticeably.
Can I use this calculator for pizza dough?
Yes. Pizza dough is usually 60 to 65 percent hydration, which makes a dough that is easy to stretch without tearing or sticking. Pick the pizza dough preset at 60 percent, enter your flour weight, and the calculator gives you the water, salt, and yeast. For a crisp thin crust, stay near 60 percent; for a softer, airier crust like a Neapolitan style, try 63 to 65 percent and handle the dough gently.