Baker's Percentage Calculator
Work in baker's math like a pro. Set your flour weight, type ingredient weights or percentages, and everything stays in sync. Change the flour to scale the whole recipe.
| Ingredient | Weight (g) | Baker's % |
|---|
Edit any weight to see its percentage, or any percentage to get the weight. Adjust the flour weight to scale the entire formula up or down — the percentages (and so the dough's character) stay identical.
How baker's percentage works
Baker's percentage is the standard way bakers write and scale formulas. Every ingredient is measured as a percentage of the total flour weight, which is fixed at 100%. The formula is simple:
Ingredient % = (ingredient weight ÷ total flour weight) × 100
So a dough with 1000 g flour and 650 g water is at 65% hydration, whether you bake one loaf or fifty. To scale, you only change the flour weight — every other ingredient follows from its percentage. This is why professional recipes are written in percentages, not cups.
Typical baker's percentages
| Ingredient | Typical baker's % |
|---|---|
| Flour | 100% (the reference) |
| Water — lean bread | 60–75% |
| Salt | 1.8–2.2% |
| Instant dry yeast | 0.5–1% |
| Fresh (cake) yeast | 1.5–3% |
| Sourdough starter / levain | 15–25% |
| Sugar — enriched dough | 5–12% |
| Butter or oil — enriched dough | 5–20% |
| Milk (in place of water) | 60–70% |
Ranges are typical starting points for common breads — adjust to your flour, climate and the crumb you want. Salt is almost always near 2% of the flour; hydration is the main lever for crumb structure.
Frequently asked questions
What is baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage (also called baker's math) expresses every ingredient in a recipe as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%, and everything else is measured relative to it. It lets bakers compare and scale formulas regardless of batch size.
How do you calculate baker's percentage?
Divide the weight of an ingredient by the total flour weight and multiply by 100. For example, 350 g water with 500 g flour is 350 ÷ 500 × 100 = 70% (a 70% hydration dough). Salt of 10 g on 500 g flour is 2%.
What is hydration in bread baking?
Hydration is the water (or other liquid) expressed as a baker's percentage of the flour. A lean bread is usually 60–75% hydration; higher hydration gives a more open, airy crumb but stickier dough that is harder to handle.
Why can baker's percentages add up to more than 100%?
Because flour alone is the 100% reference, not the whole recipe. Adding water (≈65%), salt (≈2%) and yeast (≈1%) gives a formula total around 168% — that's normal. The total simply tells you the dough weight relative to the flour.
Making pizza? The pizza dough calculator applies baker's math to a target number of dough balls. Weighing flour from cups? Use the flour cups-to-grams converter.