Baker's Percentage Calculator
Calculate baker's percentages — the professional standard for bread formulas. Flour is always 100%. Every other ingredient is expressed relative to total flour weight.
Ingredients
Baker's Percentages (Flour = 100%)
Understanding Baker's Percentage
What is baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage is a notation system where every ingredient in a recipe is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%. This system makes recipes infinitely scalable and easy to compare across different formulas.
Why use baker's percentage instead of regular percentages?
Regular percentages add up to 100% of the total. Baker's percentages don't — they reference flour alone. This is more useful because it tells you the ratio of each ingredient to flour at a glance.
What's a typical baker's percentage for a sourdough loaf?
A typical sourdough formula: Flour 100%, Water 70-78%, Salt 2%, Starter/Levain 20%. This gives you a 70-78% hydration dough.
How do I convert a regular recipe to baker's percentage?
1) Identify the total flour weight (combine all flour types). 2) Divide each ingredient weight by total flour weight. 3) Multiply by 100. Example: 500g flour, 350g water, 10g salt → Water: 350/500×100 = 70%, Salt: 10/500×100 = 2%. That's it — flour is always 100%.
How do I handle recipes with multiple types of flour?
Add all flour weights together for the 100% reference. If a recipe has 400g bread flour + 100g whole wheat = 500g total flour, that 500g is your 100%. Then calculate each ingredient's percentage against 500g. Each flour type is expressed as its own percentage: bread flour 80%, whole wheat 20%.
What are common baker's percentages for different breads?
Baguette: Flour 100%, Water 70-76%, Salt 2%, Yeast 0.5-1%. Brioche: Flour 100%, Butter 40-50%, Eggs 20-30%, Sugar 10-15%, Yeast 2-3%. Ciabatta: Flour 100%, Water 75-82%, Salt 2%, Yeast 0.5%, Olive oil 2-3%. Enriched sandwich bread: Flour 100%, Water 55-65%, Butter 5-10%, Sugar 5-8%, Milk powder 4-6%, Yeast 1.5%.