Baker’s Percentage Explained
Baker’s percentage compares each ingredient’s weight with the total flour weight: ingredient grams ÷ flour grams × 100. All flour together is 100%, so the percentages for the complete dough add up to more than 100%.
- 3 min read
- Updated 2026-10-22
Printable reference chart
Use your browser’s Print command to print this chart and the scaled ingredient list.
| Ingredient | Weight | Baker’s percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 360 g | 80% |
| Whole wheat flour | 90 g | 20% |
| Water | 306 g | 68% |
| Salt | 9 g | 2% |
| Instant yeast | 4.5 g | 1% |
| Total | 769.5 g | 171% |
Reference values are approximate; use measured weights and your recipe’s stated conventions where available.
Scale your ingredient list
Replace the example with your ingredients, one quantity per line. This multiplies amounts; it does not convert ingredient densities or determine baking time. Suggested multiplier for this guide: 600/450. Enter it in “Multiply by.”
Find the flour denominator
Add every flour in the formula first. Here, 360 + 90 = 450 g. The water calculation is 306 ÷ 450 × 100 = 68%. Salt is 9 ÷ 450 × 100 = 2%. Neither uses the total dough weight as its denominator. The two flour percentages add to 100%; they are not each 100%.
Read hydration and scale the example
For this flour-and-water example, 68% water is also 68% hydration. To use 600 g total flour, enter 600/450 in the scaler with the chart’s ingredient weights. You get 480 g bread flour, 120 g whole wheat flour, 408 g water, 12 g salt and 6 g yeast. Percentages stay the same as the batch grows. This is a mathematical illustration rather than a tested baking schedule.
Convert a target dough weight
The example totals 171%, so dough weight is flour weight × 1.71. To make 1,026 g dough, calculate 1026 ÷ 1.71 = 600 g flour, then calculate each ingredient from its percentage. The dedicated baker’s percentage calculator is useful for building a formula this way; the scaler above resizes an ingredient list you already have.
Avoid double-counting and false comparisons
For an overall sourdough formula, include the flour and water inside the starter in the corresponding totals. Do not count the starter again as an extra mass after splitting it into those components. Enriched doughs need care: milk, eggs and butter are not pure water. A simple liquid-to-flour percentage may not describe their actual water content or predict how two different doughs will feel.
Further reading: King Arthur Baking’s baker’s percentage reference. The worked numbers and charts here were calculated for this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the percentages exceed 100%?
Flour is the reference weight, not the whole dough. Water and other ingredients are added on top of that 100%.
Is 68% hydration the same as 68% water by dough weight?
No. Here it means 68 g water per 100 g flour.
Does changing batch size change the percentages?
No, if every ingredient is multiplied by the same factor.
Can I use cup measurements for baker’s percentage?
Convert to weights first. Different ingredients have different weights per cup.