Baker's Percentage Calculator
Recipes written as "70% hydration, 2% salt" become exact gram weights in seconds; no mental math, no rounding errors.
Your percentages
Enter a recipe in baker's percentages (flour = 100%) and a flour amount, then get gram weights for every ingredient, starter math included.
| Flour | 500 g |
| Water | 350 g |
| Starter | 0 g |
| Salt | 10 g |
| Total dough | 860 g |
Why bakers think in percentages
A percentage formula describes a dough's character, not its size. "70% water, 20% starter, 2% salt" is the same bread at 500 g of flour or 5 kg. Percentages make recipes scalable, comparable, and instantly diagnosable; if a dough is too slack, the percentage tells you exactly which number to change.
Note the starter rule: a 20% starter at 100% hydration adds 10% flour and 10% water to your totals. This calculator subtracts the starter's water from the water you add, so your true hydration matches the number in your recipe.
Frequently asked questions
Why is flour always 100% in baker's percentages?
Flour is the fixed reference point. Every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight, which makes recipes scalable and comparable.
What does 70% hydration mean?
The dough contains 70 g of water for every 100 g of flour. A 70% dough made with 500 g of flour takes 350 g of water.
How do I convert a cup-based recipe to baker's percentages?
Weigh every ingredient in grams, divide each by the flour weight, and multiply by 100. The flour's own percentage is always 100%.