🍞 Artisan Baking Tool — Free & Accurate

Sourdough Hydration Calculator

Dial in your hydration with precision. Enter flour and water to get your exact percentage—or set a target hydration and let the calculator find the flour and water you need.

Hydration Preset

Flour Weight (g)

Please enter a valid flour weight (0 or more).

Water Weight (g)

Please enter a valid water weight (0 or more).

Starter (% of flour, optional)

Assumes 100% hydration starter. Adds to flour & water.

Salt (% of flour, optional)

Typical sourdough salt: 1.8–2.2%.

Adjust Hydration (live)

50% 100% 72%

Drag to see how hydration changes your dough.

Results update automatically as you type. Use the button for a fresh calculation.

Hydration

72%

🍞 Classic

Ingredient Summary

Flour 500 g

Water 360 g

Starter (100%) 0 g

Salt 10 g

Total Dough 870 g

Calculation Basis

Hydration = (360 g water ÷ 500 g flour) × 100 = 72%

* Hydration is water weight ÷ flour weight. Starter and salt are optional and shown for convenience.

⚡ Quick Answer

A dough made with 500 g flour and 360 g water is 72% hydration—a classic, versatile level for sourdough. Beginners often start at 65%, while open-crumb bakers push to 78–85%. Use the calculator above for your exact numbers.

What is sourdough hydration?

Sourdough hydration is the ratio of water to flour in your dough, expressed as a percentage. It's the single most important number for controlling how your dough behaves—how sticky it is, how easy it is to shape, and how open the final crumb will be.

Hydration is calculated as (water weight ÷ flour weight) × 100. So 500 g flour and 360 g water is 72% hydration. This is different from total dough weight—it's strictly about the flour-water relationship.

Core Formula

Hydration % = (Water ÷ Flour) × 100
Water = Flour × (Hydration ÷ 100)
Flour = Total Dough ÷ (1 + Hydration ÷ 100 + Salt% + Starter%)

Hydration levels at a glance

Hydration	Feel	Best For	Difficulty
55–60%	Stiff, firm, easy to handle	Bagels, pizza, dense loaves	★☆☆
60–68%	Soft but manageable	Sandwich loaves, beginner sourdough	★★☆
68–75%	Sticky, extensible, classic	Everyday sourdough, boules	★★☆
75–82%	Very wet, requires strength	Open crumb, artisan loaves	★★★
82–90%	Slack, challenging	Ciabatta, focaccia, pan de cristal	★★★★

How to use the calculator

Choose a mode: "Find Hydration %" if you know your flour and water, or "Find Flour & Water" if you have a target hydration and total dough weight.
Pick a preset (Beginner, Classic, Open Crumb, Ciabatta, or Custom) to load typical numbers.
Enter optional starter and salt if you want a full recipe summary. A 100% hydration starter contributes equal flour and water.
Drag the hydration slider to see live changes in the dough ball and gauge.
Read the result: the gauge shows hydration, the card shows your ingredient summary, and the calculation basis shows the math.

Why hydration matters

Hydration affects every stage of sourdough baking:

Fermentation: Higher hydration speeds up fermentation and encourages a more open crumb.
Handling: Wetter dough is stickier and requires more strength-building (stretch and folds).
Oven spring: Higher hydration can produce dramatic oven spring—if the dough has enough strength.
Crust: Lower hydration tends to give a crisper, thinner crust; higher hydration gives a chewier, blistered crust.

Starter and salt: the hidden factors

Most hydration calculations ignore starter and salt—but they matter for precision. A 100% hydration starter is half flour and half water, so 100 g of starter adds 50 g flour and 50 g water to the dough.

Salt doesn't change hydration, but it affects dough strength and fermentation speed. Use 1.8–2.2% of flour weight for sourdough. The calculator's ingredient summary shows all of these together.

Frequently asked questions

What is sourdough hydration? ▼

Sourdough hydration is the ratio of water to flour in a dough, expressed as a percentage. It's calculated as (water weight ÷ flour weight) × 100. A dough with 500 g flour and 350 g water is 70% hydration.

What hydration should my sourdough be? ▼

Typical sourdough hydration is 65–80%. Beginners usually start at 65–70% because the dough is easier to handle. Experienced bakers often work at 75–85% for an open crumb. Very wet doughs (90%+) are possible but require strong flour and good technique.

Does starter count toward hydration? ▼

A 100% hydration starter is half flour and half water. To be precise, add half the starter weight to the flour and half to the water when calculating total dough hydration. For example, 100 g starter contributes 50 g flour and 50 g water.

How do I calculate flour and water for a target hydration? ▼

If you know your total flour weight and target hydration: Water = Flour × (Hydration ÷ 100). If you know total dough weight and hydration: Flour = Total ÷ (1 + Hydration ÷ 100); Water = Total − Flour. The calculator above handles both directions.

Why is my high-hydration dough so sticky? ▼

High-hydration dough is naturally stickier. Use wet hands, a bench scraper, and stretch-and-fold techniques to build strength. Chilling the dough during bulk fermentation also makes it easier to handle. Lower hydration or use stronger flour if it's unmanageable.

What is the difference between hydration and baker's percentage? ▼

Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of flour weight. Hydration is specifically the water percentage. So hydration is one part of baker's percentage. If flour is 100%, water is the hydration %, salt is usually 2%, and starter is 20%.

Can I use this calculator for autolyse or levain? ▼

Yes. For autolyse, use only flour and water weights. For levain, include the starter's flour and water contributions. The calculator gives you the exact hydration of any mixture of flour and water.

How does flour type affect hydration? ▼

Whole grain and high-protein flours absorb more water, so a 75% hydration dough made with whole wheat may feel stiffer than the same hydration made with white flour. Adjust hydration based on how the dough feels, not just the number.