Baker's Percentage Calculator
Enter your flour and ingredient weights to see baker's percentages instantly, or flip to percentage mode and enter the percentages to get the actual weights you need. You can also scale the entire formula to hit a precise target dough weight. Switch between grams and ounces - everything recalculates as you type.
Formula
Worked example
A basic 500 g sandwich loaf: 500 g flour (100%), 325 g water (65%), 10 g salt (2%), 5 g instant yeast (1%). Total formula = 168%, total dough = 840 g. To scale to 1,200 g: FCF = 1200 / 168 = 7.143; flour = 100 x 7.143 = 714 g, water = 65 x 7.143 = 464 g, salt = 2 x 7.143 = 14 g, yeast = 1 x 7.143 = 7 g.
What is a baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage is a notation system where every ingredient in a bread recipe is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%, no matter how much or how little you use - it is the denominator for everything else. If you use 500 g of flour and 325 g of water, the water is at 65% (baker's percentage). Because every other ingredient is measured against the flour baseline, the percentages of all ingredients added together will always exceed 100%. This is intentional and normal. The system was developed by professional bakers to make recipes easy to scale, compare, and communicate across bakeries of any size.
How to use this calculator
This calculator has three modes. In 'Weights to percentages' mode, enter the actual gram or ounce weights of each ingredient and the calculator converts them to baker's percentages so you can analyze or replicate a recipe. In 'Percentages to weights' mode, enter a flour weight and the desired percentage for each ingredient, and the calculator returns the actual weights to weigh out. In 'Scale to target dough weight' mode, enter the baker's percentages and a desired total dough weight, and the calculator uses the Formula Conversion Factor (FCF) to work out exactly how much of each ingredient to use. Switch between grams and ounces at any time using the units selector.
Hydration and what it means for your bread
Hydration is the water percentage in baker's math, and it is the single most important ratio in bread baking. Low hydration (below 60%) makes a stiff, easy-to-handle dough ideal for bagels, pretzels, and dense rolls. Standard hydration (60-68%) produces the smooth, workable dough used for most sandwich breads and dinner rolls. Higher hydration (68-78%) creates the open, chewy crumb associated with artisan country loaves and baguettes. Very high hydration (78-90%) gives the large, irregular holes of ciabatta and the airy pillows of focaccia, but requires more advanced handling technique since the dough is too wet to knead conventionally and is managed with stretch-and-fold instead.
Scaling recipes with the Formula Conversion Factor
The Formula Conversion Factor (FCF) is the key to scaling any bread formula to any size. First, add up all the baker's percentages (remember, flour counts as 100). Then divide the desired total dough weight by that sum to get the FCF. Finally, multiply each ingredient's baker's percentage by the FCF to get its weight. Example: a formula totaling 168% (flour 100 + water 65 + salt 2 + yeast 1) scaled to 1,200 g gives FCF = 1200 / 168 = 7.143. Flour = 100 x 7.143 = 714 g, water = 65 x 7.143 = 464 g, salt = 2 x 7.143 = 14.3 g. The scale mode of this calculator does all of this automatically.
Typical ingredient percentages
Salt is almost always 1.8-2.2% of flour weight. Below 1.5% bread tastes flat; above 2.5% salt begins to inhibit yeast activity and can tighten gluten too much. Instant dry yeast is typically 0.5-1%, active dry yeast 0.8-1.2%, and fresh yeast 1.5-2.5% (since it contains more water). Sugar is usually 0-3% in lean breads and 5-15% in enriched doughs like brioche or cinnamon rolls. Fat (butter, oil, lard) is 0% in lean breads such as baguettes and sourdough, 3-5% in sandwich loaves for softness, and 15-50% or more in highly enriched doughs. When using a sourdough starter (levain), the starter itself counts as a mixture of flour and water: a 100% hydration starter is half flour and half water by weight, so you need to factor those amounts into your overall baker's percentages for an accurate hydration calculation.
Hydration ranges by bread type
| Bread Type | Hydration | Dough Feel | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bagels, pretzels | 50-57% | Very stiff | Easy to shape |
| Sandwich loaves, brioche dough | 58-65% | Firm, smooth | Beginner-friendly |
| Country loaves, sourdough | 66-72% | Slightly tacky | Intermediate |
| Baguettes, batards | 68-75% | Sticky | Intermediate |
| Ciabatta, fougasse | 75-85% | Very wet, slack | Advanced |
| Focaccia | 80-90%+ | Pourable batter-like | Poured, not shaped |
Typical water percentages for common bread styles. Higher hydration produces a more open, chewy crumb.
Frequently asked questions
Why don't baker's percentages add up to 100%?
Because flour is the baseline, not the total. Every ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight, not as a share of the whole recipe. Flour is set at 100%, and all other percentages are calculated on top of that same flour weight. A typical sandwich bread formula might read: flour 100%, water 65%, salt 2%, yeast 1% - totaling 168%. This is correct. The numbers are not slices of a pie; they are ratios, each independently scaled against the same flour reference.
How do I convert a recipe in cups to baker's percentages?
You cannot convert cups to baker's percentages directly - you must weigh your ingredients first. Volume measurements like cups are unreliable for baking because the same cup of flour can vary by 20-30% in weight depending on how it is scooped. Weigh every ingredient in grams or ounces, then divide each ingredient's weight by the flour weight and multiply by 100. Once you have the percentages, you can reproduce the recipe reliably by weight every time.
What is a good hydration for a beginner's first loaf?
65-68% is ideal for a first loaf. At this hydration the dough is smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky, holds its shape well, and is forgiving of minor over-kneading or under-shaping. Once you are comfortable at 65%, try pushing to 72-75% for a more open crumb. High-hydration doughs above 78% are rewarding but require practice with stretch-and-fold, bench technique, and scoring.
How do I account for a sourdough starter in baker's percentages?
Split the starter into its flour and water components. A 100% hydration starter (equal weights flour and water) contributes half its weight as flour and half as water. A 75% hydration starter contributes: starter weight / 1.75 as flour and the rest as water. Add those amounts to your main dough flour and water totals before calculating your percentages. This gives you the true overall hydration of the dough, including the water locked inside the starter.
What is the Formula Conversion Factor (FCF) and how does it work?
The FCF is a multiplier that lets you scale any recipe to any size. Add up all the baker's percentages for your formula (remember flour = 100). Divide your desired total dough weight by that sum - the result is the FCF. Multiply each ingredient's baker's percentage by the FCF to get its weight in grams or ounces. For example, if your formula total is 168% and you want 840 g of dough, the FCF = 840 / 168 = 5.0. Flour = 100 x 5 = 500 g, water = 65 x 5 = 325 g, and so on.
Can I use baker's percentages for non-bread baking?
Yes, though it is less standard. Cookie, muffin, and cake formulas are sometimes expressed this way in professional pastry kitchens, with the main starch or flour as the 100% base. In pastry contexts the technique is more often called a formula ratio rather than baker's percentage. For bread baking it is the universal language; for other baking it is useful but you may need to adapt the baseline ingredient.