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Baker's Percentage Calculator

Baker's percentage (a.k.a. "baker's math") is how every professional bakery writes a bread formula — each ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight. The same formula scales from one loaf to a thousand without re-deriving ratios. Enter the flour weight plus the percentages and the tool returns each ingredient amount, the total dough weight, and classifies the hydration (water ÷ flour) against the canonical style bands — pan bread, baguette, ciabatta, brioche and more.

Common formulas

Hydration

65%

Artisan / rustic (baguette, country loaf)

Total dough weight

842.5 g

(168.5 % total)

Per-ingredient weights (all % of flour weight)

Flour weight
500 g (100%)
Water (% of flour)
325 g
Salt (% of flour)
10 g
Yeast (% of flour)
7.5 g
Fat / butter (% of flour)
0 g
Sugar (% of flour)
0 g
Other add-ins (seeds, cheese — % of flour)
0 g

Baker's percentage: each ingredient = its % × flour weight; the row total exceeds 100 % by definition. Per Hamelman "Bread", DiMuzio, and the King Arthur reference guide.

Formula

Ingredient amount = flour weight × ingredient % ÷ 100; total dough = Σ all ingredients; hydration = water ÷ flour × 100 % (i.e. the water baker's %).

Frequently asked

Why do the percentages add up to more than 100 %?

Because flour itself defines the 100 % baseline. Baker's percentage is not "what fraction of total weight is each ingredient" (that would be the true-percentage system) — it is "what is each ingredient as a multiple of flour weight". So 500 g flour + 65 % water (= 325 g) + 2 % salt (= 10 g) + 1.5 % yeast (= 7.5 g) gives a row total of 168.5 % and a dough weight of 842.5 g. Three benefits of this convention: (1) scaling — to go from 500 g flour to 5 kg, just multiply every gram by 10; the percentages do not change; (2) cross-formula comparison — placing two recipes side by side immediately shows which is wetter or saltier without doing any arithmetic; (3) pre-ferments — flour and water inside a levain or poolish are folded into the totals, putting all formulas on the same footing. If you see a recipe whose percentages add to 100 %, it's a true-percentage formula, not baker's — do not plug it into this calculator directly.

My dough is impossibly sticky — did I use too much water?

Maybe — but more often the culprit is your flour or technique. Three diagnostics: (1) Flour protein — US King Arthur Bread Flour is ~12.7 % protein and handles 75 %+ hydration; standard all-purpose flour (HK supermarket "多用途", US "AP") sits at 10–11 % and gets miserably sticky at the same 70 %. Use "bread flour" (≥ 12 % protein) for high-hydration formulas. (2) Kneading vs. stretch-and-fold — doughs at ≥ 70 % hydration should NOT be kneaded. Instead do a stretch-and-fold every 30 min for 3–4 cycles, then cold-retard. Kneading directly just sticks to everything. (3) Autolyse — combine flour and water alone for 20–60 min before adding salt and yeast. This gives the flour time to fully hydrate and lets gluten begin to form; the same 75 % formula handles dramatically better after autolyse. If all three are in place and it's still impossible, drop to 65 % to nail the basics, then work back up to 70 %, 75 %. The 65 % default in this tool is forgiving with any flour.

How do I convert between instant, active-dry and fresh yeast percentages?

The three yeasts differ in moisture and activity, so you cannot swap 1:1. Standard conversion (Hamelman §1.6, SAF manufacturer data): (1) Fresh / cake yeast (~70 % moisture) is the baseline — recipes often quote 3 % fresh; (2) Active dry yeast (ADY, ~8 % moisture) = fresh ÷ 2.5, so 3 % fresh ≈ 1.2 % ADY. ADY needs proofing in warm water (35–40 °C) for 5–10 min before use; (3) Instant yeast (IDY / "rapid rise", ~5 % moisture) = fresh ÷ 3, so 3 % fresh ≈ 1 % IDY. IDY can be mixed with flour directly and has the highest activity — the convenience choice. The 1.5 % default in this tool assumes IDY; with ADY use 1.8–2 %; with fresh yeast use 4.5–5 %. Cold-retard fermentation (12–24 h fridge) lets you drop yeast to 0.1–0.5 % and develop flavour through long, slow proofing. Practical note: supermarket 7 g sachets labelled "instant" are IDY; the bricks used in professional bakeries are usually fresh yeast and need refrigeration for ≤ 7 days.

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