Baker's Percentage Calculator

The formula

every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, which is always 100

Flour is always 100 per cent

In baker's percentage each ingredient is quoted against the flour, so the percentages sum to more than 100 and that is intentional. It means a formula scales to any batch size by changing one number, and it makes two recipes directly comparable — a 65 % hydration dough and an 80 % one are visibly different animals in a way that cups and spoons completely conceal.

Hydration is the variable that matters

Below about 60 % you get a stiff, close-crumbed loaf that is easy to shape. At 75 % and above the dough is slack and sticky and gives the open, irregular crumb people want from sourdough — and it is much harder to handle. Most of the difficulty beginners have with wet doughs is that they are technique problems being read as recipe problems.

The small percentages are not optional

Salt at 2 % is not seasoning alone: it tightens the gluten and slows fermentation, and bread made without it rises too fast and tastes of nothing. Yeast at 1 % of flour is a starting point that should fall as the fermentation time rises — a long cold prove needs a fraction of that.

Recipes are starting points

Ovens run hot or cold by 20 degrees, flour absorbs water differently by season and brand, and the same joint of meat cooks at a different rate depending on its shape rather than its weight. Everything here is a planning figure that gets you close enough to start, and the thermometer, the scales and your own notes from last time are what finish the job.