{"schema":"askedwell-answer-v1","url":"https://askedwell.com/pages/what-ratio-of/baker-percentage-flour-base","question":"What is baker's percentage and how do I use it?","short_answer":"Baker's percentage: flour = 100%, everything else as percentage of flour weight. Standard bread: 100% flour, 60-75% water, 2% salt, 1% yeast. Example: 500g flour + 350g water (70%) + 10g salt (2%) + 5g yeast (1%) = 865g dough.","long_answer":"**What baker's percentage is**\n\nBaker's percentage (BP) is a notation system where flour is always 100%, and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. It's the universal language of professional baking — used in bakeries, milling industry, and serious home baking.\n\n**The advantages over standard recipes**\n\n- **Scales infinitely**: same recipe works for 1 loaf or 10,000 loaves\n- **Compares recipes universally**: 70% hydration is 70% hydration whether for 100g or 100kg flour\n- **Eliminates ambiguity**: no cup-vs-tablespoon-vs-handful confusion\n- **Reveals dough character at a glance**: 60% hydration = stiff dough; 80% = wet/sticky\n- **Industry-standard**: bakery recipes always written in BP\n\n**Standard percentages by bread style**\n\n| Bread style | Flour | Water | Salt | Yeast | Other |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Sandwich bread | 100% | 65% | 2% | 1% | 4% sugar, 2% butter |\n| Pizza dough | 100% | 60-65% | 2% | 0.5% | (none) |\n| Sourdough (rustic) | 100% | 75% | 2% | (starter 20%) | |\n| Sourdough (high-hydration) | 100% | 80-90% | 2% | (starter 20%) | |\n| Baguette | 100% | 67% | 2% | 0.5% | |\n| Brioche | 100% | 45% | 2% | 1% | 50% butter, 20% sugar, 30% egg |\n| Bagel | 100% | 56% | 2% | 1% | 4% malt |\n| Whole wheat | 100% | 70% | 2% | 1% | |\n| Rye bread | 100% | 75% | 2% | (or 30% rye starter) | |\n| Focaccia | 100% | 80% | 2% | 1% | 10% olive oil |\n| Croissant | 100% | 45% | 2% | 1% | 50% butter (laminating) |\n\n**How to convert a standard recipe to baker's percentage**\n\n1. Identify the flour weight in grams (e.g., 500g)\n2. Divide every other ingredient by flour weight × 100\n\nExample recipe converted:\n- \"500g flour + 350g water + 10g salt + 5g yeast\"\n- = 100% flour + 70% water (350÷500×100) + 2% salt + 1% yeast\n\n**How to scale a baker's percentage recipe**\n\nTo make 5kg dough total:\n1. Sum all percentages: 100% + 70% + 2% + 1% = 173%\n2. Total dough = flour × (173 ÷ 100), so flour = 5000 ÷ 1.73 = 2890g flour\n3. Other ingredients: water = 2890 × 0.70 = 2023g; salt = 2890 × 0.02 = 58g; yeast = 2890 × 0.01 = 29g\n\n**Hydration matters most**\n\nHydration % (water as % of flour) determines dough character:\n\n| Hydration | Texture | Bread style |\n|---|---|---|\n| 45-55% | Stiff, dense | Bagels, pretzels, croissants |\n| 55-65% | Standard | Sandwich bread, baguette |\n| 65-75% | Medium-wet | Rustic loaves, sourdough |\n| 75-85% | Wet | High-hydration sourdough, ciabatta |\n| 85%+ | Very wet | Focaccia, panettone, some sourdoughs |\n\nHigher hydration = more open crumb, more flavor development, harder to handle.\n\n**Common pitfalls**\n\n- **Forgetting to convert grams** — using cup measurements + percentage = chaos. Always weigh in grams.\n- **Confusing flour as 100% with total dough as 100%** — flour is 100% in BP, dough total is 173-200%.\n- **Adding ingredients without recalculating** — adding 30% sugar to a sandwich loaf shifts everything; recalculate hydration impact.\n- **Not adjusting for sourdough starter** — starter contains ~50% water + 50% flour. A \"20% starter\" recipe needs adjustment to actual water/flour totals.\n\n**Cross-reference:** see /pages/what-ratio-of/sourdough-hydration for sourdough-specific math + /pages/what-ratio-of/water-to-flour-bread for hydration → texture + /pages/how-long-does/sourdough-rise for fermentation timing.","ranges":[{"condition":"Standard sandwich bread","duration":"BP: 100% flour + 65% water + 2% salt + 1% yeast","note":"Plus 4% sugar + 2% butter if enriched"},{"condition":"Pizza dough","duration":"BP: 100% flour + 60-65% water + 2% salt + 0.5% yeast","note":"Lean dough"},{"condition":"Sourdough","duration":"BP: 100% flour + 75% water + 2% salt + 20% starter","note":"Adjust for starter water content"},{"condition":"High-hydration artisan","duration":"BP: 100% + 80-90% water","note":"Very wet; sticky; requires technique"}],"variables":[{"name":"Flour type","effect":"AP flour vs bread flour vs whole wheat: same BP recipe absorbs water differently. Whole wheat absorbs more."},{"name":"Hydration target","effect":"Higher water = open crumb but harder to handle. Match your skill level."},{"name":"Salt percentage","effect":"2% standard; below 1.5% = slack dough; above 2.5% = stiff + inhibits yeast"},{"name":"Yeast amount","effect":"More yeast = faster rise but less flavor. Pro bakers minimize yeast (0.5-1%)."}],"sources":[{"label":"Jeffrey Hamelman, \"Bread\"","note":"Industry-standard professional baking reference; baker's percentage canon","tier":2},{"label":"Peter Reinhart, \"The Bread Baker's Apprentice\"","note":"Detailed baker's percentage instruction for home bakers","tier":2},{"label":"Ken Forkish, \"Flour Water Salt Yeast\"","note":"Practical BP-based home baking","tier":2},{"label":"King Arthur Baking — Baker's Percentage","url":"https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/02/14/bakers-percentage","note":"Authoritative published explanation","tier":2},{"label":"Modernist Bread (Myhrvold)","note":"Comprehensive baker's percentage application across breads","tier":1}],"faq":[{"question":"Why do bakers use percentages instead of cups?","answer":"Three reasons: (1) Universal scaling — same recipe works for 1 loaf or 10,000 loaves; just multiply flour by desired total. (2) Precision — eliminates the 30-50% variance of cup measurements (a cup of flour can weigh 100-180g). (3) Recipe comparison — \"70% hydration\" is unambiguous; \"1 cup water\" depends on what cup. Cup measurements compound errors across multi-step recipes; percentages stay precise."},{"question":"My BP recipe calls for 70% water but my dough feels dry — what to do?","answer":"Likely your flour is more absorbent than the recipe expected. Modern artisan flour (high-protein, finely milled) absorbs more water. If 70% feels stiff: increase to 72-75% gradually. If 70% feels right: stay there. Brand variation matters: Bob's Red Mill flour absorbs differently than King Arthur Sir Galahad. Most home bakers learn their flour's \"true hydration sweet spot\" over 5-10 bakes."},{"question":"How do I calculate sourdough levain percentage?","answer":"Levain (sourdough starter) is itself ~50% flour + 50% water. A \"20% levain\" recipe means 20% of flour weight (in g) of starter. Adjust water + flour totals accordingly: if recipe says 500g flour + 20% levain (= 100g starter), the dough actually has 500 + 50 (from levain) = 550g flour and 350 + 50 = 400g water. Recalculate hydration based on total flour + total water, not just the \"main flour + main water.\""}],"keywords":["baker's percentage","how to use baker's percentage","bread hydration percent","bakery percentage system","percent flour weight"],"category":"baking","date_published":"2026-05-21","date_modified":"2026-05-21","license":"CC-BY-4.0","attribution":"https://askedwell.com"}