Sourdough Hydration Calculator + Baker’s Percentage Math Guide

Summit Sourdough's

Dough Hydration + Baker’s Percentage Calculator

Dough hydration is the percentage of water relative to flour weight. It affects how your dough handles, ferments, and bakes. Enter your ingredients in grams below to calculate hydration, salt percentage, dough weight, and baker’s percentages. This calculator includes the flour and water from your starter for more accurate results.

Works with sourdough starter
Calculates true hydration
Uses grams for accuracy
Enter Ingredients
Optional, but recommended for sourdough formulas.
A 100% hydration starter contains equal parts flour and water.
Note: Total flour and total water include the flour and water contributed by your starter.

Hydration Formula

Dough hydration is the ratio of water to flour, expressed as a percentage.

Hydration % = (Total Water ÷ Total Flour) × 100

Baker’s Percentage

Each ingredient is calculated as a percentage of total flour.

Ingredient % = (Ingredient Weight ÷ Total Flour) × 100

Summary
Hydration
72.7%
Calculated using total flour and total water, including starter.
Salt %
1.8%
Calculated from total flour.
Flour from Starter
50g
Flour contributed by your starter.
Water from Starter
50g
Water contributed by your starter.
Total Flour
550g
Flour added + flour from starter.
Total Water
400g
Water added + water from starter.
Dough Weight
960g
All ingredients combined.
Baker’s Percentages
All percentages below are based on total flour (100%).
Ingredient Weight Baker’s % (of total flour)
This recipe calculates to 72.7% hydration and 1.8% salt, which is a balanced dough for many everyday sourdough loaves.
Quick Hydration Guide
60–65% Firmer dough, easier to handle and shape.
65–75% Balanced range for many sourdough loaves.
75–80% Wetter dough with potential for a more open crumb.
80%+ Very high hydration and more challenging to handle.
What is baker’s math?

Flour is always 100%. Every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight.

It makes scaling easier. You can double or halve a recipe without losing balance.

It improves consistency. Understanding percentages helps you compare formulas and adjust hydration, salt, and starter with more precision.

At Summit Sourdough, baker’s percentages help create more consistent, repeatable results, especially when working with sourdough starter.

Better dough starts with better understanding.