Dough Hydration Calculator

Formula

Hydration = Water weight ÷ Flour weight × 100

Worked example

With Water weight: 350 g, Flour weight: 500 g, hydration is 70 %.

Calculation method

The rule is Hydration = Water weight ÷ Flour weight × 100.

Divide water weight by flour weight and multiply by 100. A 70% hydration dough contains 700 g water for each 1,000 g flour.

For this dough hydration example, changing water weight from 350 g to 351 g while keeping the other inputs fixed changes hydration from 70 % to 70.2 %.

Reading hydration

A 70% hydration dough has 70 g water for every 100 g flour. Percentages of several ingredients can add to more than 100%. In the worked values on this page, water weight 350 g, flour weight 500 g produce hydration 70 %.

Practical use

Use baker’s math to keep dough formulas consistent across batch sizes. The specific task here is to find hydration from water weight, flour weight.

Limits and common mistakes

Use weights in the same unit. Cups or spoons can vary with packing and are less reliable for this comparison. Verify water weight in g before interpreting hydration; a value measured on another basis would answer a different question.

Read the example and units

The worked values on this page use water weight 350 g and flour weight 500 g. With those exact entries, the calculator reports hydration 70 %. The output describes hydration under the displayed equation. It does not automatically include a separate cost, rate, or quantity absent from the listed fields. Use one consistent unit for the ingredient or weight measurements being compared. The arithmetic preserves or divides a stated quantity; it does not infer whether a recipe uses raw, cooked, drained, or packaged weight. Keep that measurement basis fixed when comparing two batches.

Compare one changed input

For a second scenario, change only water weight 350 g to water weight 385 g and leave the other example entries alone. The result for hydration changes from 70 % to 77 %. Comparing one changed input at a time shows exactly which assumption drove the difference in this calculation. The changed output follows the ingredient ratio or yield equation. Ingredient quantity may scale linearly while equipment, baking time, moisture loss, and serving perception do not, so review the cooking process separately.

How to interpret this kind of result

Baker’s percentage uses flour weight as the 100% reference. Dough hydration divides water weight by flour weight, so 350 g water with 500 g flour is 70% hydration. Other ingredient percentages are calculated the same way, and the listed percentages can sum to more than 100% because flour alone is the base. For this dough hydration calculation, water weight in g and flour weight in g determine hydration; the displayed hydration 70 % belongs to that exact combination rather than to a different rate, term, or measurement basis.

Scope and practical checks

Weights should use the same unit for numerator and denominator. A cup of flour and a cup of water do not provide comparable weights without measuring or converting them separately. Different flours absorb water differently, so the percentage describes a recipe ratio rather than guaranteeing one dough texture. Check the water weight in g and flour weight in g entries against the quantities in your own situation before using hydration; this page cannot infer a field or condition that you did not enter.

Common questions

What does this dough hydration result include?

The hydration comes from water weight in g and flour weight in g using the displayed rule Hydration = Water weight ÷ Flour weight × 100. It does not automatically include a condition absent from the listed inputs. Check whether ingredients were measured raw or cooked and whether the serving sizes match.