Baker’s percent for home dough

Flour is 100 percent

Baker’s percentage sets total flour weight at 100%. Every other ingredient is expressed as a percent of that flour. Water at 65% of flour weight is 65% hydration. Salt at 2% of flour weight is a common bread target. The Baker’s Percentage Calculator converts weights to percents and percents back to weights.

Why home bakers use it

Once you know hydration and salt percent, you can compare two recipes even when one uses 500 g flour and the other uses 1 kg. You can also scale a dough by changing only the flour weight and keeping the percents fixed.

Mixed flours

If a formula uses bread flour and whole wheat together, add those flour weights first. Together they are the 100% base. Water and salt percents are taken from that combined flour total.

Preferments

When a preferment (starter, poolish, biga) contributes flour and water, include that flour in the total flour if you want the overall dough hydration. Some bakers track preferment percents separately; be consistent about which view you want.

Worked example

500 g flour, 325 g water, 10 g salt, 3 g yeast. Hydration is 325 ÷ 500 = 65%. Salt is 2%. Yeast is 0.6%. Those percents should match what the calculator shows for the same inputs.

Scaling after the percents look right

To make a larger batch at the same feel, raise flour to 800 g and keep 65% water, 2% salt, and 0.6% yeast. Or keep the percents in the baker’s tool and let it emit the new weights. For non-bread recipes that are not flour-based, use Recipe Scaling instead.

Checklist before you buy or rely on the number

Write down the raw inputs you used, including units. Re-run the calculator once with those exact figures. If a store pack size or a syllabus rule forces a round-up, round up rather than chasing a perfect match. Keep a note of the date you calculated so you can compare later when prices, labels, or grades change.

A note on units

Keep units consistent inside one calculation. Mixing feet with metres, or cups with grams without a density, is the usual source of bad results. When a label uses a different unit, convert once with the Unit Converter and then return to the specialty calculator.

Limits

These figures are planning aids. Confirm product labels, syllabus rules, employer policy, or veterinary advice when a decision depends on the number.