Free Baker's Percentage Calculator
Master bread and dough formulas with our free baker's math calculator. Instantly calculate ingredient weights, percentages, and total dough hydration for perfect results.
Ingredients (in grams)
Load Dough Presets
Baker's Percentages
- Flour100%
- Water70.0%
- Salt2.0%
- Yeast1.0%
Master Baker's Math & Hydration
Professional bakers don't use cups; they use Baker's Percentages. This distinctive formula sets the total weight of flour as 100%, and all other ingredients as a percentage of that flour. This makes scaling recipes up (for a bakery) or down (for a single loaf) incredibly easy. Our Bread Hydration Calculator helps you find the perfect water-to-flour ratio for everything from stiff Bagel dough (55%) to airy Ciabatta (80%).
How to Use Baker's Math
- Set Base Flour: Enter the total amount of flour in grams. This is always your 100%.
- Add Ingredients: Input weights for water, salt, yeast, and starters.
- Analyze Hydration:
- 50-60%: Stiff dough (Bagels, Pretzels).
- 60-70%: Standard dough (Sandwich bread, Pizza).
- 70-80%+: Wet/High hydration dough (Sourdough, Ciabatta).
- Scale: To make a larger batch, simply increase the flour weight, and the tool can help you calculate the new ingredient ratios.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why uses grams instead of volume?▼
Volume is inaccurate. One cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 120g to 150g depending on how it's packed. For consistent sourdough starter and bread results, weighing ingredients is non-negotiable.
Does sourdough starter count as hydration?▼
Yes! A standard 100% hydration starter is composed of equal parts flour and water. Professional formulas subtract this flour and water from the base amounts, but for home baking, adding it as a separate ingredient (as shown here) is standard practice.
What is "High Hydration"?▼
Doughs with 75% water or more are considered high hydration. They produce an open crumb with large holes but are sticky and harder to handle. They usually require techniques like coil folds instead of traditional kneading.
Sweety's Bakery
Premium Baking Solutions
www.sweetysbakery.com
| Component / Ingredient | Details / Calculation |
|---|---|
Base Flour (100%) | 500 g |
Water | 350 g (70.0%) |
Salt | 10 g (2.0%) |
Yeast | 5 g (1.0%) |
How to Use Baker's Percentage
Baker's percentage is a mathematical system used by professionals to express the ratio of ingredients in a recipe. Unlike standard percentages, the total flour weight is ALWAYS 100%.
Identify Total Flour Weight
Add up the weight of all the flours in your recipe. This combined weight is your 100% base.
Divide Other Ingredients
Take the weight of any other ingredient (like water or salt) and divide it by the total flour weight.
Multiply by 100
Multiply that result by 100 to get the Baker's Percentage for that specific ingredient.
Scale Freely
Once your recipe is in percentages, you can scale to any batch size by simply deciding how much total flour you want to use, and multiplying it by the percentages.
Baker's Percentage FAQs
Common questions about using Baker's Math for bread and pastry.