Baker's Percentage Calculator

Why Baker's Percentage Makes Dough Consistent

Baker's percentage is the standard language of professional baking because it normalizes every ingredient against the flour weight. Flour is always 100%, and water, salt, yeast, sugar, and fat are expressed as percentages of that flour. This makes recipes scalable and comparable: a dough with 70% hydration is the same ratio whether you mix 500 grams or 5 kilograms of flour. It also makes it easy to adjust one variable without rewriting the entire formula.

Hydration is the most important driver of dough feel. Lower hydration (60–65%) creates tighter dough for bagels or sandwich loaves, while higher hydration (70–85%) yields open crumb artisan bread. Salt affects flavor and fermentation speed; most lean breads use around 1.8–2.2%. Yeast determines rise speed and can be reduced for longer cold fermentation. Sugar and fat add tenderness, browning, and keeping quality.

This calculator assumes a straightforward formula where all ingredient weights are calculated from flour. If you use a sourdough starter or preferment, treat its flour and water as part of your total flour and total water. That keeps hydration accurate and prevents over- or under-hydrating. You can also use the add-ins field for seeds or whole grains that scale with flour. If those add-ins absorb water, consider increasing hydration slightly to maintain the desired dough feel.

The results section shows each ingredient weight and the total dough weight. That total is useful for planning batch yields and dividing into loaf weights. For example, a 1,800-gram batch can be split into two 900-gram loaves or three 600-gram boules. The main result line ensures you always know the exact ingredient weights you should scale and mix before fermentation.

For deeper control, track dough temperature and fermentation time alongside percentages. Warmer dough ferments faster, which may require lower yeast or shorter proofing. Preferments and starters can also be expressed as percentages of total flour to keep formulas consistent. When you log both ratios and times, you build a repeatable baking system that scales from a single loaf to a full production batch.

Formula

Ingredient weight: W_i = W_flour × (P_i / 100).

Total dough: W_total = W_flour + Σ W_i.

Example Calculation

Flour weight = 1000 g. Hydration 70%, salt 2%, yeast 0.5%. Water = 1000 × 0.70 = 700 g. Salt = 1000 × 0.02 = 20 g. Yeast = 1000 × 0.005 = 5 g. Total dough = 1000 + 700 + 20 + 5 = 1725 g.

FAQs

Is hydration the same as water percentage?

Yes. Hydration refers to water weight divided by flour weight, expressed as a percentage.

Should I include oil in hydration?

No, oil is typically listed separately as a percentage of flour.

Can I use this for pizza dough?

Absolutely. Baker's percentage is commonly used for pizza, focaccia, and other doughs.

Is this calculator private?

Yes. All calculations run locally in your browser.

How it works

This calculator multiplies flour weight by each ingredient percentage and sums totals. All computation is client-side for privacy.