Sourdough Hydration Calculator
Calculate sourdough dough hydration percentage, total flour and water including starter, baker's percentages, and autolyse water split.
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Dough Hydration %
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Total Flour (g) —
Total Water (g) —
Extended More scenarios, charts & detailed breakdown ▾
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Dough Hydration %
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Total Flour —
Total Water —
Professional Full parameters & maximum detail ▾
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% of total water
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Hydration & Dough
Dough Hydration % —
Salt Weight —
Mixing Schedule
Autolyse Water —
Remaining Water (add with levain) —
Prefermented Flour % —
Fermentation
Bulk Fermentation Estimate —
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your flour weight (the main flour added, not including starter flour).
- Enter your water weight (the main water added, not including starter water).
- Enter your starter weight and its hydration % (100% = equal flour and water).
- The calculator computes total flour, total water, and dough hydration including the starter's contribution.
- Use the Target Hydration tab to find how much water you need for a specific hydration goal.
Formula
Starter Flour = Starter Weight ÷ (1 + Hydration%/100)
Total Flour = Main Flour + Starter Flour
Dough Hydration % = (Total Water ÷ Total Flour) × 100
Example
Example: 500g flour, 350g water, 100g starter at 100% hydration → Starter Flour = 50g, Starter Water = 50g → Total Flour = 550g, Total Water = 400g → Hydration = 72.7%
Frequently Asked Questions
- Hydration is the ratio of total water to total flour in a dough, expressed as a percentage. 75% hydration means 75g of water per 100g of flour. Higher hydration makes a more open crumb but is harder to handle.
- Yes — the starter contains both flour and water which contribute to total dough hydration. This calculator accounts for starter flour and water based on your starter's hydration percentage.
- Beginners should start with 70–72% hydration, which is manageable to shape. Intermediate bakers work with 75–80%, while experienced bakers may push 85%+ for an open crumb.
- In baker's math, every ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight. This makes scaling recipes easy — if you know the flour weight, you can calculate every other ingredient.
- Higher hydration doughs ferment faster because enzymes and wild yeast move more freely through the wetter dough. Reduce bulk time slightly for high-hydration doughs.