Baker's Percentage Calculator

Baker's percentage is the standard way bakers write a formula. The total flour weight is set to 100 percent, and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of that flour weight. So with 1,000 g flour and 700 g water, the water is 70 percent. Because the numbers are ratios, two formulas are easy to compare even when their batch sizes differ.

Divide the ingredient weight by the total flour weight and multiply by 100. For example, 20 g of salt against 1,000 g of flour is 20 / 1,000 * 100, which is 2 percent. Flour itself is always 100 percent by definition, and when a recipe uses several flours, you add them together for the base and each flour becomes a slice of that 100 percent.

Hydration is the baker's percentage of the water in a dough, found by dividing the total liquid weight by the total flour weight and multiplying by 100. This calculator sums every ingredient you tag as a liquid and compares it to total flour, so 650 g water on 1,000 g flour reads as 65 percent. Lean breads often sit near 65 to 80 percent, while ciabatta and other very wet doughs run higher.

Since every ingredient is a fixed percentage of flour, you only need the new flour weight, then multiply each ingredient by the same factor. Pick a target total flour weight and the factor is the new flour divided by the old flour. Pick a target total dough weight instead and the calculator first solves for the flour needed, because dough scales in step with flour, then applies that one factor to every row.

Yes, and they almost always do. Flour alone is already 100 percent, so once you add water, salt, and everything else, the total formula percentage climbs well above 100. A 65 percent hydration loaf with 2 percent salt and a 20 percent starter has a total formula percentage of 187 percent, which simply means the dough weighs 1.87 times the flour.

No, as long as you use the same unit for every ingredient. Baker's percentage is a ratio, so the percentages come out identical whether you enter grams or ounces. Weight is far more accurate than volume for baking, so a kitchen scale is worth using; this tool keeps your chosen unit on the scaled weights too.