Bakers Percentage Calculator

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Check formula inputs

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Formula preset:

Start from a common bread style, then adjust the baker's percentages and scale target.

Scale by:

Changing the basis keeps the same formula percentages while solving the matching ingredient weights.

{{ targetWeightLabel }}:

Target hydration:

Use the dough feel you want; the calculator separates water already carried by preferment or starter.

45% {{ formatNumber(hydration_percent, 1) }}% 95%

% flour

Salt:

Salt controls flavor, gluten strength, and fermentation pace.

% flour

Preferment or starter:

Set 0 for straight dough, or include levain, poolish, biga, or sourdough starter as part of the formula.

0% {{ formatNumber(preferment_percent, 1) }}% 60%

% flour

Preferment hydration:

Use this to calculate the hidden flour and water already inside the starter or preferment.

% water

Yeast type:

Choose the yeast you will weigh. Leave the percentage at 0 for naturally leavened dough.

Instant yeast reference:

A straight same-day dough may use more; sourdough formulas can keep this at zero.

% flour

Oil or fat:

Adds tenderness, pan release, or browning support in enriched or pizza dough.

% flour

Sugar or sweetener:

Use small amounts for browning, or higher values for enriched dough.

% flour

Milk powder:

Adds dairy solids for soft sandwich or enriched dough formulas.

% flour

Seeds or inclusions:

Use for dry seeds, grains, nuts, fruit, or mix-ins weighed against flour.

% flour

Scale extra batch:

Keep at 0 for exact formulas; add 1-3% when production loss matters.

% extra

Ingredient rounding:

Choose the gram increment that matches the scale you use on the bench.

Bread flour share:

Use direct flour shares to break the flour line into practical weigh-out rows.

% direct flour

Whole grain share:

Increase hydration manually when higher whole grain absorption calls for it.

% direct flour

Rye flour share:

The remaining direct flour share is labeled other flour in the recipe sheet.

% direct flour

Baker's percentage formula sheet
Ingredient	Baker %	Weight	Flour share	Role	Copy
{{ row.ingredient }}	{{ row.bakersPercentDisplay }}	{{ row.weightDisplay }}	{{ row.flourShareDisplay }}	{{ row.role }}

Dough math details
Metric	Value	Use	Copy
{{ row.metric }}	{{ row.value }}	{{ row.note }}

Baker's percentage bench notes
Check	Signal	Bench action	Copy
{{ row.check }}	{{ row.signal }}	{{ row.action }}

The chart library did not load, but the formula tables and exports remain available.

{{ recipeCardText }}

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Baker's percentage is the common notation behind scalable bread formulas. Instead of treating a recipe as a fixed list of weights, it makes total flour the 100% reference and expresses every other ingredient against that flour basis. A formula with 1,000 g flour, 720 g water, and 20 g salt is therefore 72% hydration and 2% salt, no matter whether the batch is one loaf or a mixer full of dough.

The method is useful because bread does not scale like a casual cup-and-spoon recipe. A small loaf, a dozen pizza balls, and a production batch can all keep the same dough character when the flour basis, hydration, salt, preferment, yeast, and enrichment percentages stay proportional. It also gives bakers a compact way to compare formulas. Two doughs with the same total weight can feel very different if one carries 58% water and the other carries 78% water.

Diagram showing flour as the 100 percent basis with water and starter weighed as flour-relative percentages

Hydration is the most familiar baker's percentage because water changes dough feel quickly. Lower hydration usually gives firmer dough that is easier to shape. Higher hydration can support a more open crumb, but flour strength, whole grain share, mixing, folds, fermentation, and handling skill decide whether the dough actually behaves well. Salt percentage matters too. A small change around the common 1.8% to 2.4% range can alter flavor, gluten strength, and fermentation pace.

Preferments and sourdough starters create the mistake that catches many formulas. A levain is not just an ingredient sitting beside flour and water. It already contains flour and water, so its hydration changes both the flour basis and the water still needed at final mix. A 100% hydration starter is equal flour and water by weight, while a stiff biga contributes more flour than water. True hydration should count the total water and total flour in the final dough.

Baker's percentage is still a planning language, not a guarantee of bread quality. It will not know that a fresh stone-milled flour needs more water, that inclusions were soaked, or that a long cold ferment needs less yeast. The numbers make the formula auditable before mixing, then bench judgment takes over.

How to Use This Tool:

Start from the formula closest to your dough, then adjust the percentages until the Formula Sheet matches what you want to weigh.

Choose a Formula preset such as Country sourdough, Lean white bread, Pizza dough, Enriched sandwich loaf, or Rye levain blend. The summary updates with the mixed dough weight, flour basis, true hydration, and formula total.
Set Scale by to Total flour weight when you know the flour basis, or Target mixed dough weight when you need a specific batch size. Enter the gram value in the target weight field.
Adjust Target hydration, Salt, Preferment or starter, and Preferment hydration. Watch the summary badges and the Dough Math tab for prefermented flour, preferment water, and Water to add.
Select the Yeast type and enter an Instant yeast reference if the dough uses commercial yeast. Active dry and fresh yeast convert from the instant-yeast reference percentage.
Open Advanced for oil or fat, sugar or sweetener, milk powder, dry inclusions, extra batch scale, ingredient rounding, and direct flour split. These controls change the formula rows without changing the flour-as-100% rule.
Use Formula Sheet for weigh-out rows, Dough Math for hydration and preferment accounting, and Bench Notes for checks before mixing. If an input note appears, fix the highlighted issue before relying on the weights.

Use Copy formula card when you need a compact bench note, or use the table exports after confirming the rows match your scale precision.

Interpreting Results:

The most important output is the Formula Sheet, because it turns percentages into the actual grams to weigh. The Total flour basis includes flour hidden inside the preferment, while Water to add excludes water already carried by starter or preferment. Mixing total hydration water instead of the Water to add row is the fastest way to make a dough wetter than planned.

True hydration describes total water divided by total flour, after preferment flour and water are counted.
Formula total can exceed 100% because flour remains the reference, not the total batch.
Mixed dough weight includes optional extra batch scale when that advanced setting is above zero.
Bench Notes are warnings and handling cues, not proof that the formula will suit a specific flour or fermentation schedule.

A clean result does not mean the dough is automatically practical. Recheck unusually high hydration, salt above the typical bread range, direct flour shares over 100%, and any formula where preferment water exceeds the target hydration.

Technical Details:

Baker's percentage uses one denominator: total flour weight. That denominator includes every flour source in the final dough, including flour inside a starter, levain, poolish, biga, sponge, or other preferment. Ingredient weights then scale by multiplying the flour basis by each percentage.

Formula Core

The basic ingredient conversion is:

W = F \times \frac{P}{100}

Here W is the ingredient weight in grams, F is the total flour basis, and P is that ingredient's baker percentage. For 1,000 g flour and 72% hydration, water is 1,000 x 72 / 100, or 720 g before preferment adjustment.

Preferment percentages need a second split because a starter is made of flour plus water. The flour share inside the preferment is:

P_{flour} = \frac{P_{preferment}}{1 + \frac{H_{preferment}}{100}}

Preferment water percentage is the preferment percentage minus that flour share. With a 20% preferment at 100% hydration, 10% of the flour basis is preferment flour and 10% is preferment water. A 72% target hydration therefore needs 62% water added at final mix.

Bakers percentage result fields and meanings
Result field	Meaning	Check before mixing
Total flour basis	All flour in the formula, including preferment flour.	Use this as the 100% denominator.
Direct flour to add	Flour weighed at final mix after preferment flour is removed.	Confirm flour shares total 100% or less.
Water to add	Target hydration water minus preferment water.	Do not also add the preferment water again.
True hydration	Total water divided by total flour.	Compare against the flour type and handling plan.
Formula total	Sum of direct flour, water, preferment, salt, yeast, enrichments, and inclusions as flour-relative percentages.	Use it to solve from a target mixed dough weight.

When Scale by is set to target mixed dough, the flour basis is solved from the formula total. Extra batch scale then adds the selected overmix percentage to every ingredient for bowl loss or divider tolerance. Display rounding affects shown grams only; the underlying formula uses the entered percentages.

Worked Examples:

Country sourdough: With 1,000 g total flour, 72% hydration, 2% salt, and a 20% preferment at 100% hydration, the Dough Math rows show 100 g preferment flour, 100 g preferment water, and 620 g Water to add. The Formula Sheet gives the final weigh-out rows while the summary reports true hydration near 72%.

Pizza batch by dough weight: A 2,200 g target mixed dough with 64% hydration, 2.6% salt, 1.5% oil, and a small instant yeast reference solves the flour basis from the desired dough weight. Use the Formula Sheet as the practical bench output: weigh the listed grams rather than trying to scale each ingredient by hand.

Preferment too wet for the target: If a high preferment percentage and high preferment hydration already contain more water than the target hydration allows, the input note says the preferment water exceeds the target. Raise Target hydration, lower Preferment or starter, or use a stiffer preferment before mixing.

FAQ:

Why do the percentages add up to more than 100%?

Flour is fixed at 100%, and every other ingredient is measured against flour. The Formula total can exceed 100% because it is not a share of the finished dough weight.

Should starter flour and water count in hydration?

Yes. The calculator separates preferment flour and preferment water, then reports True hydration from the total flour and total water in the final dough.

Why did my preset change to Custom formula?

Editing percentage fields marks the formula as custom so the current values stay intact instead of being overwritten by a preset.

What should I do when an input note appears?

Read the note before mixing. Common fixes include lowering flour shares that exceed 100%, raising hydration when preferment water is too high, or reviewing salt above the usual bread range.

Glossary:

Baker's percentage: Formula notation where total flour is 100% and other ingredients are flour-relative percentages.
Hydration: Total water divided by total flour, expressed as a percentage.
Preferment: A fermented flour-and-water portion such as levain, poolish, biga, sponge, or starter.
Flour basis: The total flour weight used as the denominator for all formula percentages.
Formula total: The sum of formula percentages used to solve mixed dough weight from a flour basis.

References:

Baker's Percentage, King Arthur Baking.
Hydration in bread dough, explained, King Arthur Baking, January 11, 2023.
Baker's Percent, BAKERpedia.