Dough hydration calculator

Baker's percentage is the language of bread

Every professional bread recipe is written in baker's percentage. Flour is always 100%. Everything else is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. A 70% hydration dough means water weighs 70% of what the flour weighs. If you have 500g of flour, you have 350g of water. Salt at 2% = 10g. Yeast at 0.5% = 2.5g. This notation makes scaling trivial (want more dough? Multiply all percentages by the same factor) and communicates intent clearly ("what hydration?" is how bakers compare recipes).

The numbers that matter for bread:

• Bagels: 50-55% hydration (stiff dough)
• Pretzels: 55-60%
• Pan sandwich bread: 60-65%
• Enriched brioche: 60% (butter adds moisture)
• Basic lean loaf: 65-70%
• Pizza dough: 60-70% (varies by style — Neapolitan 65%, NY-style 58-62%)
• Baguette: 70-75%
• Country sourdough: 75-80%
• Ciabatta: 80-85% (very wet)
• Focaccia: 80-90%
• Extreme "Tartine-style" boules: 85-90%

What hydration changes

More water = more steam during baking = more oven spring = more open crumb. Low-hydration bread (60%) is easy to shape and bakes into a tight, even crumb (sandwich loaf). High-hydration bread (80%+) is sticky and hard to shape but produces the dramatic irregular holes of a good ciabatta or sourdough. Most home bakers fail at high hydration because they haven't developed the technique — stretch-and-folds, wet hands, good shaping.

The beginner's hydration ladder

1. Start at 65%. Feels like pizza dough. Shapes easily. Forgives over-kneading.
2. Move to 70%. Slightly tacky. Bench-flour helps. Most "no-knead" recipes live here.
3. Progress to 75%. Requires wet hands, bench scraper, minimal handling. Starts to benefit from bulk fermentation folds.
4. Reach 80%. Proper technique territory. Use a banneton (proofing basket). Mix in a tall container for easier folds.
5. 85%+ is expert mode. Tartine boules, high-hydration ciabatta. You'll need a strong flour (King Arthur Bread Flour 12.7%, or Caputo 00 at 13%) and well-developed gluten.

Why the same hydration gives you different doughs

Flour absorbs water differently:

• Bread flour (12.5% protein) absorbs more water than all-purpose (11%)
• Whole wheat absorbs ~10% more water than white
• Rye absorbs dramatically more (200%+ in traditional rye)
• Older flour (6+ months) may need 3-5% less water
• Humid kitchens (summer) make all doughs wetter-feeling

This is why Tartine Bread's 78% hydration works in Chad Robertson's SF bakery but feels like pudding in your humid Georgia summer kitchen. Adjust down 3-5% in humid conditions.

Calculating total hydration with starter, poolish, or biga

When a recipe uses a pre-ferment (starter, poolish, biga), the water and flour in the pre-ferment count toward the total dough hydration. A 20% poolish at 100% hydration (100g flour, 100g water) adds 100g of flour and 100g of water to your totals.

Example sourdough: 500g flour + 100g starter (50g flour, 50g water) + 350g water + 10g salt. Total flour = 550g. Total water = 400g. Hydration = 400/550 = 72.7%. Writing the same recipe at "72.7% hydration" tells another baker exactly what to expect.

Why your dough might feel wrong at the "right" hydration

Common causes:

• Unweighted ingredients. A cup of flour ranges 100-160g. Volume measurement destroys hydration accuracy.
• Measuring salt in your water weight. Salt weight usually isn't included in hydration calculations.
• Forgetting starter contributes flour + water. See above.
• Flour difference. King Arthur vs. store-brand AP: different protein, different absorption.
• Temperature. Cold doughs feel drier than warm doughs at the same actual hydration.

The autolyse: a free hydration upgrade

Mix flour and water only (no salt, no yeast), let rest 30 minutes to 4 hours. Flour fully hydrates, gluten begins developing without any mechanical effort. A 75% hydration dough after a 4-hour autolyse feels like a 68% dough in the hand — easier to shape, more extensible. Add salt and yeast after autolyse, mix briefly.

The bassinage technique

"Bassinage" is adding water at the end of mixing to reach higher hydration than initial mix could handle. You mix at 70%, develop gluten, then slowly add water to reach 80%. The developed gluten handles the extra water. This is how professionals reach 85%+ hydration without the dough becoming soup.

Measuring dough temperature: the variable nobody talks about

Dough temperature determines fermentation rate more than any other factor. Target: 74-78°F for most breads. Formula for final dough temp: (target ×3) − flour temp − room temp − friction factor (10°F for hand-knead, 20°F for stand mixer) = water temperature to use. If target is 76°F, flour is 70°F, room is 72°F, and you're using a stand mixer: 228 − 70 − 72 − 20 = 66°F water. This is why artisan bakeries temper their water.

Related: sourdough starter feeder, pizza dough baker math, cups to grams, recipe scaler.

The answer to "why is my bread dry at 72% hydration"

Almost always: over-baked. Bread is done at 200-210°F internal. If you bake to "crust is dark," you've gone to 215-220°F and evaporated too much moisture. Use a probe thermometer. Pull at 205°F for a tender crumb at 72% hydration. Second common cause: your scale is wrong. Test it with a known weight (a sealed unopened 1-lb box of butter is 454g). Third: your AP flour is actually bread flour (or vice versa) with different absorption, throwing off real hydration.

Worked example: scaling a 75% hydration boule to 3 loaves

Single loaf formula: 500g flour (100%), 375g water (75%), 100g starter (20%, at 100% hydration), 10g salt (2%). Total: 985g dough.

For 3 loaves: multiply everything by 3. 1500g flour, 1125g water, 300g starter, 30g salt. Total: 2955g dough, yielding 3 × 985g balls for shaping. Starter math: 300g starter at 100% hydration = 150g flour + 150g water. True total flour = 1650g, true total water = 1275g. Final hydration = 1275/1650 = 77.3%. Close to target 75% if you count only added flour/water (which is how most recipes are written).

Worked example: adjusting a recipe from bread flour to AP

Recipe calls for 500g bread flour (12.7% protein) at 75% hydration = 375g water. Substituting AP flour (11% protein): reduce water by 3-4% because AP absorbs less. New water: 363g (72.5% hydration). Dough handles similar to the original at 75% with bread flour. Miss this adjustment and the AP version feels wet and slack.

Worked example: whole wheat sourdough

50% whole wheat + 50% bread flour typical formula: 250g WW + 250g bread flour + 400g water (80% hydration) + 100g starter + 10g salt. Whole wheat absorbs 10% more water than white, so 80% overall hydration feels like 75% when mixed. If you dropped to 100% white flour at 80%, you'd have a much wetter, sloppier dough.

Flour protein content reference (2026)

• King Arthur Bread Flour: 12.7% protein, high absorption
• King Arthur All-Purpose: 11.7%, above-average for AP
• Gold Medal All-Purpose: 10.5%, low AP
• Pillsbury All-Purpose: 10.5%
• King Arthur Pastry: 8.5%, very low
• King Arthur Cake Flour: 7%, lowest
• Caputo "00" Pizzeria: 12.5%, finely milled
• Caputo "00" Chef's (Cuoco): 13%, slightly higher
• Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour: 12.5%
• Central Milling Artisan Baker's Craft (organic): 11.5%, specialty bread flour with malt
• Whole wheat (King Arthur): 14% but bran offsets much of gluten forming
• Rye flour: 8-12% but proteins don't form gluten network; rye behaves very differently

What 65% vs 72% vs 80% looks like in the final loaf

Same flour, same ferment, same bake — changing only hydration:

• 65%: tight, even crumb. Slices clean. Holds butter well. Good sandwich bread. Shape is crisp (high oven spring).
• 72%: moderately open crumb with irregular small holes. Balanced chew. All-purpose artisan loaf.
• 80%: open crumb with large irregular holes. Chewy/glossy interior. Shape is rounder, softer. Slightly more challenging to shape cleanly.
• 85%: very open, glossy interior resembling ciabatta. Must be shaped wet-handed, scored confidently. Crust is thinner, crust-crumb contrast more dramatic.

Autolyse vs. fermentolyse

Autolyse: flour + water only, rest 30 min - 4 hrs. Gluten forms passively; enzymes break starches to sugars. After autolyse, add salt and yeast. Best for 75%+ hydration doughs that need extra extensibility.

Fermentolyse: flour + water + starter (but no salt), rest similar time. Combines autolyse with starter activation. Popular in modern sourdough. Salt is added after the rest.

Both extend the total dough development window and reduce kneading time. Skip if you're in a rush; use if you want dramatically easier shaping and more extensible dough.

Stretch-and-fold schedule for high-hydration doughs

Standard protocol for 75-80% hydration sourdough:

1. Mix flour, water, starter, salt at time 0.
2. 30 min rest.
3. First stretch-and-fold (wet hands, grab from one side, stretch up, fold over).
4. 30 min rest, second stretch-and-fold.
5. 30 min rest, third stretch-and-fold.
6. 30 min rest, fourth stretch-and-fold.
7. Bulk ferment 2-4 hours total until 50% volume increase.
8. Shape, proof in banneton 4-12 hours (fridge for cold retard).
9. Bake.

Skipping stretches at high hydration = weak dough that spreads when scored.

Bassinage in detail

To reach 85%+ hydration reliably: start at 70%. Mix, autolyse 30 min, develop gluten with 2-3 slap-and-folds. Slowly drizzle in additional water (15% of flour weight = extra 75g per 500g flour) while performing gentle folds. The developed gluten absorbs the extra water smoothly. Total hydration reaches 85%. This is how Chad Robertson and other high-hydration bakers get their extreme wet doughs to behave.

FAQ

Can I just use less water to make my dough easier? Yes — reduce from 75% to 68% and the dough is much easier to handle. You'll lose some of the open crumb. Trade-off.

Why is my dough feeling wetter than the recipe says? Weather (high humidity), different flour (lower absorption), old flour (less water uptake), or inaccurate measurement. Test by checking dough consistency, not the number.

Do I include starter water in hydration calculation? Professionally, yes. But most home recipes list "hydration" only counting added water and flour. Read the recipe context.

What protein percentage for pizza dough? 11.5-12.5% (bread flour or Caputo 00 Pizzeria). Lower protein gives chewier, lighter Neapolitan crust; higher protein gives NY-style pull.

How do I make my bread have more holes? More hydration (up to 80%), more bulk fermentation (longer), gentler shaping (don't degas), higher oven temp (steam + spring).

Why do my high-hydration doughs spread flat after shaping? Under-fermented (weak gluten), over-shaped (degassed), or shaped too loosely. Final shaping should create surface tension — the dough ball should feel taut.

What's the difference between Tartine's 75% and a no-knead 75%? Same hydration, different ferment. Tartine uses active starter and stretches over 4 hours. No-knead uses tiny yeast and waits 18 hours. Both work; flavor and crumb differ.

Can I bake bread at 60% hydration? Yes — that's sandwich bread territory. Very predictable, very easy to shape, tight crumb. Good starting point for beginners.