What this calculator does
Turn a bread formula's percentages into weights you can measure, or find the percentages behind a recipe you already have. Bakers write bread formulas differently from ordinary recipes. Instead of fixed amounts, they give every ingredient as a percentage of the total flour weight. The flour always counts as 100%. A dough with 65% water, 2% salt and 1% yeast means that for every 100 g of flour there are 65 g of water, 2 g of salt and 1 g of yeast. The percentages add up to more than 100, and that's expected.
The format makes a formula easy to scale and compare. Change the flour weight and every other ingredient follows. This calculator works both ways. Go from percentages to weights when you're mixing a batch. Go from weights to percentages when you want to understand or adjust a recipe you already have. It also reports the total dough weight and the hydration. Hydration is the water-to-flour percentage, and it largely decides how a dough handles.
Where it's used
Why this math matters outside the classroom:
- Hydration. Dough made with 500 g of flour at 70% hydration takes 0.70 × 500, which is 350 g of water.
- Salt and yeast. At 2% salt and 1% yeast, 500 g of flour calls for 10 g of salt and 5 g of yeast.
- Working backward. For 1,000 g of dough at 100% flour, 65% water and 2% salt, dividing 1,000 by 1.67 gives about 599 g of flour.
- Bakery production. Bakeries write formulas as percentages so one recipe can scale from a single loaf to a full production batch.
- Comparing recipes. Home bakers compare two bread recipes by their hydration percentages rather than by cups of water.
Grade level and standards: Grades 6–7; Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 6.RP.A.3.c, 7.RP.A.3. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
How to use it
- Choose whether you have percentages (and want weights) or weights (and want percentages).
- Enter the total flour weight and its unit. If the recipe uses several flours, add them together.
- Enter water, salt and yeast, plus up to three other ingredients such as sugar, oil, butter or a preferment.
- Read the weights or percentages, the total dough weight and the hydration. The table lists the whole formula.
What the inputs mean
- Total flour weight
- All flours together count as 100%. Ingredient weights use the same unit as the flour.
- Water (% of flour)
- Typical ranges: about 55–62% for stiff bagel dough, 63–70% for sandwich and baguette dough, 75% and above for open-crumb breads.
- Salt (% of flour)
- Most breads use about 1.8–2.2% salt.
- Yeast (% of flour)
- Depends on the yeast type: instant yeast is often 0.5–1.5%, and fresh yeast about three times as much.
- Water weight
- Same unit as the flour.
Formula and method
ingredient weight = flour weight × percentage ÷ 100 percentage = ingredient weight ÷ flour weight × 100 hydration = water ÷ flour × 100 total dough = flour + all other ingredients
Because every percentage is relative to flour, a formula's percentages stay the same no matter how big the batch is. Scaling a dough just means picking a new flour weight.
Hydration here counts only the water you enter. Milk, eggs and sourdough starter also carry water, so if you use them the true hydration is higher than shown.
Worked example
A lean bread formula is 65% water, 2% salt and 1% yeast, and you want to mix it with 500 g of flour.
- Water: 500 × 65 ÷ 100 = 325 g.
- Salt: 500 × 2 ÷ 100 = 10 g. Yeast: 500 × 1 ÷ 100 = 5 g.
- Total dough: 500 + 325 + 10 + 5 = 840 g, and hydration is 325 ÷ 500 × 100 = 65%.
Result: Mix 500 g flour, 325 g water, 10 g salt and 5 g yeast for 840 g of dough at 65% hydration.
Understanding the result
Higher hydration gives a slacker, stickier dough and usually a more open crumb; lower hydration gives a firmer dough that is easier to shape.
To make a target amount of dough, divide the dough weight you want by the total formula percentage (as a decimal) to get the flour weight. For 1,000 g of dough at 168%, use 1,000 ÷ 1.68 ≈ 595 g of flour.
Assumptions and limitations
- Flour is the only 100% base. Every other ingredient, including whole grains you add as an extra, is a percentage of that base.
- All weights share the flour's unit.
- Hydration counts only the water field. Water in milk (about 87%), eggs (about 75%) and starter isn't added automatically.
- When a sourdough starter is entered as an 'other' ingredient, the flour and water inside it aren't added to the flour and water totals.
- Percentages describe proportions, not technique. Flour type and mixing still change how a given hydration feels.
Frequently asked questions
Why do baker's percentages add up to more than 100%?
Each percentage is measured against the flour alone, not against the whole dough. Flour is 100% by definition, so everything else is added on top, and a typical lean dough totals about 165–170%.
What is dough hydration?
Hydration is the weight of water as a percentage of the weight of flour. A dough with 350 g of water and 500 g of flour is 70% hydration.
How do I scale a bread recipe with baker's percentages?
Enter the recipe's weights in reverse mode to get its percentages, then switch to percentages mode, enter them, and type the new flour weight. Every ingredient scales in proportion.
How do I convert a recipe that only gives cups?
Convert each ingredient to grams first with the grams to cups converter, then enter the weights here. Weighing your own flour once is even better, since cup weights vary.
How this calculator is checked
Method: Standard baker's percentage convention: each ingredient as a percentage of total flour weight. The calculation is covered by automated tests with known reference values and edge cases. Last updated 2026-10-18. Found a problem? Tell us.
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