Calculate baker's percentages for bread and pastry recipes. Convert between weight and percentage for flour, water, salt, yeast, and other ingredients.
Baker's percentage is the language professional bakers use to communicate recipes precisely, regardless of batch size. Unlike home-kitchen volume measurements, baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage relative to the total flour weight — flour is always 100%. This elegant system makes it effortless to scale recipes up for a commercial bakery or down for a single loaf.
Understanding baker's percentage unlocks the science behind great bread. A baguette typically runs 65–68% hydration, while ciabatta pushes 75–80%. By expressing recipes this way, you can instantly compare formulas, troubleshoot sticky doughs, and fine-tune crumb structure. Salt usually falls between 1.8–2.2%, and commercial yeast between 0.5–1.5%.
This calculator converts your recipe into baker's percentages and back again. Enter your flour weight and each ingredient amount to see the percentages, or start from a target formula and calculate exact weights for any batch size. Whether you're perfecting a sourdough boule or scaling up a brioche for the holidays, baker's percentage keeps your ratios locked in.
Baker's percentage is the professional standard because it lets you scale recipes to any batch size while keeping ratios perfect. This calculator eliminates the math so you can focus on baking. Keep these notes focused on your operational context. Tie the context to the calculator’s intended domain. Use this clarification to avoid ambiguous interpretation. Align this note with review checkpoints.
Baker's Percentage = (Ingredient Weight ÷ Total Flour Weight) × 100. Total Dough Weight = Sum of all ingredient weights. Hydration % = (Total Water Weight ÷ Total Flour Weight) × 100.
Result: Hydration: 68%, Salt: 2%, Yeast: 1%
With 1000 g flour, 680 g water gives 68% hydration (680/1000×100). Salt at 20 g is 2%, and 10 g yeast is 1%. Total dough weight is 1710 g.
Hydration is the single most important number in a bread formula. It determines crumb structure, crust character, and how the dough handles. Low-hydration doughs (55–60%) produce tight, chewy crumbs like bagels. Medium hydration (63–68%) yields classic sandwich and French bread. High hydration (72–85%) creates the large, irregular holes prized in artisan ciabatta and focaccia.
A classic French baguette formula is 100% flour, 66% water, 2% salt, and 0.7% instant yeast. Pain de campagne adds 10–20% whole wheat or rye. Brioche is enriched with 50–60% butter and 15–20% eggs, pushing total hydration (from eggs, butter, and liquids) well above 100%.
When scaling up, increase mixing time slightly to fully develop gluten. When scaling down to a single loaf (300–500 g flour), you may need to adjust yeast slightly upward because fermentation is faster in small batches. Always recalculate salt precisely — even a 0.5% difference is noticeable in the final bread.
Baker's percentage expresses each ingredient's weight as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%, and every other ingredient is relative to it.
Flour is the foundational ingredient in baking. Using it as the baseline makes it easy to compare recipes and scale them to any size.
It depends on the bread type. Sandwich bread runs 60–65%, baguettes 65–68%, ciabatta 75–80%, and focaccia can go up to 85%.
Most bread formulas use 1.8–2.2% salt relative to flour weight. Too little and the bread tastes flat; too much inhibits yeast activity.
Yes! Baker's percentage works for any flour-based recipe including cakes, cookies, pie dough, and pastries.
Multiply each percentage by your desired flour weight and divide by 100. For example, 68% hydration with 500 g flour = 340 g water.