Baker’s Percentages Made Simple: The Key to Perfect Baking

Last updated on February 8th, 2025 at 08:32 pm

Mastering baker’s percentages is the key to precision in baking. Whether you’re scaling a sourdough recipe, adjusting hydration for the perfect crumb, or fine-tuning ingredient ratios, baker’s math allows you to make accurate adjustments with confidence.

What Are Baker’s Percentages and Why Do They Matter?

With nearly 20 years of experience teaching bread and sourdough baking, I’ve had the privilege of educating bakers at King Arthur Baking, IBIE in Las Vegas, the Bread Bakers Guild of America, Terra Madre in Italy, Food on the Edge in Ireland, and multiple culinary colleges. Baker’s percentages are a fundamental tool I teach in every course, as they are essential for both professional and home bakers to develop consistency, precision, and confidence in their baking.

Every time I develop a new bread formula—whether it’s a sourdough baguette or a multigrain country loaf—I always start with baker’s percentages. This method allows me to fine-tune hydration, fermentation, and ingredient ratios with precision. When I was first learning to bake professionally, this system was a game-changer. It took the guesswork out of scaling recipes and helped me create consistent, repeatable results. Now, after nearly 20 years of teaching bread baking, I consider baker’s percentages the foundation of great bread. Master this, and you’ll have complete control over your dough.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to calculate baker’s percentages to scale recipes up or down effortlessly.
• Why flour is always 100% and how every other ingredient relates to it.
• How to use the Baker’s Percentage Calculator to simplify complex formulas.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to read, modify, and create your own formulas like a professional baker—no guesswork required.

Watch this Video to Learn More about Baker’s Percentages

Understanding baker’s percentages is essential for improving your baking precision. In this video, I break down the fundamentals of baker’s math and show you how to apply it to real recipes.

Why Use Baker’s Percentages?

Baker’s percentages allow you to:

• Work with precision – Every ingredient is measured relative to flour, making it easy to fine-tune recipes.
• Scale recipes effortlessly – Whether you’re making one loaf or ten, the formula stays the same.
• Speak a universal baker’s language – Professional bakers use baker’s percentages to troubleshoot, share, and refine recipes efficiently.

By mastering this system, you’ll be able to adjust hydration, fermentation, and structure with confidence.

When to Use Baker’s Percentages?

Baker’s percentages are most commonly used in bread baking, but they also apply to many other types of baked goods:

• Bread & Sourdough – Control hydration, salt, and levain percentages for better structure.
• Cookies & Brownies – Adjust fat-to-flour ratios for crispier or chewier textures.
• Cakes & Pastries – Understand sugar-to-flour balance for consistent results.
• Pizza & Flatbreads – Optimize hydration for different textures (crispy vs. chewy).

Seasonal Adjustments: How Temperature Affects Formulas

Baker’s percentages also help you adjust for weather conditions:

• Hot Weather: Reduce the levain percentage to slow fermentation and prevent over-proofing.
• Cold Weather: Increase levain slightly to help maintain fermentation speed.

Using baker’s percentages gives you full control over your dough in any baking environment.

Temperature plays a huge role in fermentation speed. Learn how to control your dough temperature here: How to Calculate Desired Dough Temperature.

Calculating Baker’s Percentages

Baker’s percentages work differently from regular percentages because they are always based on the total flour weight, which is set at 100%. Every other ingredient in the recipe is calculated relative to that flour weight.

This method makes it easy to:

• Adjust hydration and fermentation with precision.
• Scale recipes up or down without affecting dough balance.
• Compare different formulas quickly (e.g., high-hydration sourdough vs. enriched dough).

How to Calculate Baker’s Percentages (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Set the total flour weight to 100%.
   • Example: If you have 500g of flour, this equals 100%.
2. Divide each ingredient’s weight by the total flour weight.
   • Example: If the recipe has 400g of water, divide 400 ÷ 500 = 0.80 (80%).
   • This means the dough has 80% hydration.
3. Repeat for each ingredient.
   • Example: If the dough contains 10g of salt, calculate 10 ÷ 500 = 0.02 (2%).

Understanding Levain Percentages

Levain (or sourdough starter) is typically 10-25% of the total flour weight in a formula. A higher percentage means faster fermentation, while a lower percentage allows for longer proofing times.

Need help managing your starter? Check out these guides:

• Creating a Sourdough Starter from Scratch
• How to Feed a Sourdough Starter

Example: Baker’s Percentage for a Sourdough Recipe

• The total of both flours (bread + whole wheat) always equals 100%.
• Every other ingredient is measured relative to the total flour weight.

Common Mistakes When Using Baker’s Percentages

Even experienced bakers can make errors when working with baker’s percentages. Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to fix them:

1. Not Setting Flour to 100%

• A common misunderstanding is assuming all ingredients should add up to 100%. In baker’s math, flour is always 100%, and everything else is based on that.

Example: If a recipe has 500g of flour and 400g of water, the water is 80%, not 44%.

2. Confusing Hydration Percentage with Total Dough Weight

• Many assume hydration refers to the entire recipe, but it is always calculated relative to flour.

Example:

• 500g flour + 375g water = 75% hydration
• 500g flour + 375g water + 10g salt does not mean hydration is lower—it remains 75%.

3. Ignoring Ingredient Weight vs. Volume

• Using volume measurements (cups, teaspoons) instead of weight can lead to inconsistent results. Flour compacts easily, so a cup of flour might weigh anywhere from 120g to 150g.

Solution: Always measure in grams for precision.

4. Forgetting Ingredient Interactions

• Higher hydration requires stronger flour, and higher salt content can slow fermentation. When adjusting baker’s percentages, consider the ingredient interactions.

Example: Increasing hydration by 5% may require extra stretch and folds for dough strength.

Baker’s Percentage Formula:

How to Apply Baker’s Percentages in Real Baking Scenarios

Baker’s percentages aren’t just a tool for scaling recipes—they also help you understand hydration, fermentation, and dough consistency. By analyzing the percentages in a formula, you can predict how a dough will behave and make adjustments as needed.

Real-World Examples of Baker’s Percentages

Baker’s percentages aren’t just for bread—they’re used across all types of baking. Here’s how they apply to different doughs and batters:

Notice how hydration, fat, and sugar percentages vary dramatically depending on the type of dough. Mastering these ratios allows you to tweak any formula to get the texture and flavour you want.

How Baker’s Percentages Help in Recipe Development

One of the biggest advantages of baker’s percentages is that they allow you to tweak and refine recipes with accuracy. Whether you want to create a new sourdough formula or modify an existing recipe, baker’s math helps you maintain balance while making adjustments.

Example 1: Converting a Classic Baguette into a Higher-Hydration Formula

Let’s say you have a standard baguette recipe with 72% hydration, and you want to experiment with a wetter dough to achieve a more open crumb.

Original Formula (72% hydration):

• 1,000g flour (100%)
• 720g water (72%)
• 2% salt (20g)
• 0.2% yeast (2g)

Now, let’s increase hydration to 78%:

• 1,000g flour (100%)
• 780g water (78%)
• 2% salt (20g)
• 0.2% yeast (2g)

What changes?

• The dough will be wetter and require more stretch and folds.
• Fermentation may move slightly faster due to increased enzymatic activity.
• You may need to adjust the shaping technique to prevent spreading.

Example 2: Modifying a Brioche Dough to Reduce Butter

A traditional brioche contains 50-60% butter, making it rich and tender. What if you want a leaner version with less butter but still soft?

Original Formula (50% butter):

• 1,000g flour (100%)
• 500g butter (50%)
• 50g sugar (5%)
• 2% salt (20g)
• 400g eggs (40%)
• 2% yeast (20g)

Modified Formula (30% butter):

• 1,000g flour (100%)
• 300g butter (30%)
• 50g sugar (5%)
• 2% salt (20g)
• 400g eggs (40%)
• 2% yeast (20g)

What changes?

• Gluten development will be stronger due to less fat weakening the dough.
• The dough will be less rich but still soft.
• Fermentation may speed up slightly since fat slows down yeast activity.

Example: Baker’s Percentages for Cinnamon Rolls

Enriched doughs like cinnamon rolls require careful hydration and fat ratios for a soft, tender crumb. Here’s a breakdown:

Key Takeaway: Compared to sourdough or baguettes, enriched doughs have lower hydration (since butter and eggs act as liquids) and higher fat & sugar for softness.

Understanding Hydration: How Water Affects Dough Structure

Hydration percentage determines how dough is handled, fermented, and baked. Higher hydration leads to a more open crumb and extensible dough, while lower hydration creates a firmer dough with a tighter crumb.

Hydration Levels and Dough Characteristics

💡 Want to master high-hydration dough? Read my guide: 5 Tips for High Hydration Sourdough

How Different Flours Affect Hydration

Example: Hydration Adjustments in a Sourdough Formula

If a recipe calls for 75% hydration using bread flour, but you switch to whole wheat, you may need to increase hydration to 80-85% to maintain the same dough consistency.

If you’re working with fresh-milled flour, fermentation and hydration behave differently. Learn more about milling your own flour here: Milling Your Own Fresh Flour.

Baker’s Percentages for Different Types of Dough

Baker’s percentages apply beyond bread, influencing texture, structure, and fermentation across various dough types.

Example: A high-hydration sourdough (80%) requires careful handling, while a brioche dough (50%) has lower hydration but high-fat content, making it tender.

Want to master high-hydration dough? Check out my guide: 5 Tips for High Hydration Sourdough

Scaling a Recipe: How to Adjust a Formula Using Baker’s Percentages

Baker’s percentages make it easy to scale recipes up or down while keeping the ratios consistent.

Example: Scaling a Sourdough Recipe

Let’s say you have a 500g flour formula with:

• 80% hydration (400g water)
• 20% levain (100g)
• 2% salt (10g)

If you want to double the recipe, simply multiply each ingredient by 2:

• 1,000g flour
• 800g water (still 80% hydration)
• 200g levain
• 20g salt

Whether you’re making one loaf or 100, baker’s percentages ensure consistency. Here’s how professionals apply them in a bakery setting.

How Professional Bakers Use Baker’s Percentages in a Bakery Setting

In a professional bakery, baker’s percentages ensure consistency across large batches. Here’s how professionals use them daily:

1. Scaling Large Batches
A bakery might need to make 100 baguettes instead of 10. Instead of rewriting the recipe, they use baker’s percentages to scale ingredients proportionally.

Example: If a baguette recipe calls for 1,000g of flour, scaling up 10x means:

• 10,000g flour
• 7,500g water (75% hydration)
• 200g salt (2%)

2. Maintaining Consistency
Bakeries must ensure every batch tastes the same. By using percentages instead of fixed amounts, they can adjust formulas based on flour absorption, temperature, and humidity.

Example: Flour absorbs more moisture in winter. A bakery might adjust hydration from 75% to 78% to maintain dough consistency.

3. Adjusting for Ingredient Variability
Different flour brands absorb water differently. Professional bakers tweak hydration to match the flour’s absorption rate.

Example: A new flour batch absorbs 3% more water, so hydration is increased from 72% to 75% without affecting the rest of the formula.

Scaling Recipes in a Bakery: From Home Baking to Commercial Production

When transitioning from home baking to a bakery setting, baker’s percentages make it easy to scale formulas while ensuring consistency across multiple batches.

Example: Scaling a Ciabatta Dough for Bakery Production
Let’s say a home baker makes ciabatta using:

• 500g flour
• 400g water (80% hydration)
• 10g salt (2%)
• 1g yeast (0.2%)

Now, imagine a bakery needs 50 loaves. Instead of manually adjusting every ingredient, we simply scale up proportionally:

Key Takeaway: Whether making 5 loaves or 50, the ratios stay the same, making it effortless to scale production without compromising dough quality.

Troubleshooting with Baker’s Percentages: How to Spot & Fix Issues

If your dough isn’t behaving as expected, baker’s percentages help you diagnose and correct the problem quickly. Use this table to adjust hydration, fermentation, and salt balance with precision.

Pro Tip: Mastering baker’s percentages gives you full control over your dough—helping you troubleshoot and improve every bake effortlessly.

How to Modify a Formula Using Baker’s Percentages

Baker’s percentages make it easy to fine-tune recipes. Here’s how to modify a formula based on the desired outcome:

Example: If your sourdough feels too dense, increasing hydration from 72% to 76% and extending fermentation can improve structure.

How to Calculate the Dough’s Weight Using Baker’s Percentage

When developing or refining recipes, I almost always start with baker’s percentages. With practice, these percentages allow you to visualize the final product—its texture, hydration, and structure—before even mixing the dough.

Baker’s percentages help you quickly answer:

• What type of loaf are you making? (Rustic sourdough, enriched dough, or a pan loaf?)
• How hydrated is the dough? (Will it be easy to shape or require stretch & folds?)
• What is the salt and levain balance? (Does it need more fermentation control?)

Reverse Baker’s Percentage Formula

Reverse baker’s percentages allow you to calculate ingredient weights when you start with a set flour amount. Instead of working from an existing recipe, this method helps you determine how much water, levain, and salt you need based on the total flour weight.

Example: Scaling for One Loaf of Sourdough Bread

Let’s say you want to bake a sourdough loaf using 500g of flour. You need to determine the ingredient amounts based on these percentages:

• 80% hydration (water)
• 20% levain
• 2% salt

Now, apply the formula:

Scaling Up or Down

Once you have your base formula, you can easily adjust for different batch sizes:

• Custom batch size? Multiply the flour amount by each ingredient’s percentage for precise scaling.
• Double the batch (1,000g flour): Multiply each ingredient by 2.
• Half batch (250g flour): Multiply each ingredient by 0.5.

Want an Easier Way to Calculate Reverse Baker’s Percentage?

Use My Free Dough Calculators to automatically calculate ingredient weights based on your desired flour amount.

By mastering both forward and reverse baker’s percentages, you can adjust any recipe on the fly, whether you’re baking a single loaf or scaling up for a big batch.

Practical Baker’s Math Exercise

To put baker’s percentages into practice, try this exercise:

Exercise: Scale a Recipe
You have a formula for one loaf (500g flour):

• 80% hydration (400g water)
• 20% levain (100g)
• 2% salt (10g)

Question:
How much of each ingredient do you need for three loaves (1,500g flour)?

Solution:
Multiply each percentage by 1,500g flour:

• Water: 1,200g (80%)
• Levain: 300g (20%)
• Salt: 30g (2%)

Using baker’s percentages makes scaling easy and ensures accuracy every time.

Quick Reference: Essential Baker’s Percentage Formulas

Use these formulas as a guide to scaling and adjusting any bread recipe:

Basic Sourdough Formula:

• 100% Flour
• 75% Water (Hydration)
• 20% Levain
• 2% Salt

Scaling Example: Want to make a single loaf with 500g of flour? Multiply each percentage by 500g:

• Water: 500g × 0.75 = 375g
• Levain: 500g × 0.20 = 100g
• Salt: 500g × 0.02 = 10g

Adjusting Hydration for Dough Type:

Simplifying Sourdough Digital Course

If you found this guide helpful and want to dive deeper, check out my Simplifying Sourdough digital course.

• Learn how to master sourdough fermentation, hydration, and shaping techniques
• Get step-by-step video tutorials and expert insights from my 20+ years of teaching
• Gain the confidence to create consistent, bakery-quality bread at home

Enroll now and start baking better sourdough today.

Join the Simplifying Sourdough Course Here

Related Sourdough Bread Recipes to Practice Baker’s Percentages

Now that you understand baker’s percentages, put them to use with these sourdough recipes:

• Sourdough Burger Buns – Apply baker’s percentages to enriched dough for a soft, fluffy texture.
• Sourdough Baguettes – Perfect for refining hydration and fermentation timing.
• Gouda & Herb Sourdough – Learn to balance mix-ins while keeping a strong dough structure.
• Fig & Olive Sourdough – Master adding inclusions without overhydrating the dough.
• Multigrain Sourdough – Adjust baker’s percentages for whole grains and higher absorption.
• Turmeric Sourdough – Experiment with hydration and fermentation when using spices.

Join the Conversation!

Have a question about baker’s percentages? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to help!