BakeMemoBaking guide · 06
How to calculate dough hydration
Hydration is water as a percentage of flour. If you bake with a sourdough starter, the flour and water inside the starter count too — leave them out and the number reads low.
The basic formula
Hydration = water weight ÷ flour weight × 100%
It’s simply the baker’s percentage of water. 500 g flour with 350 g water is 70% hydration. If you use more than one flour, add them together as 100%.
With a starter: split it into flour and water
A starter is flour plus water. At 100% starter hydration, 100 g of starter is 50 g flour and 50 g water.
Flour in starter = starter weight ÷ (1 + starter hydration)
Water in starter = starter weight − flour in starter
Example: 500 g flour + 350 g water + 100 g starter.
| How you count | Flour | Water | Hydration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added water only | 500 g | 350 g | 70% |
| Including the starter (100% starter) | 550 g | 400 g | 72.7% |
| Including the starter (80% starter) | 555.6 g | 394.4 g | 71.0% |
| Including the starter (50%, stiff starter) | 566.7 g | 383.3 g | 67.6% |
Same formula: 70% if you only count added water, 72.7% with the starter. When you compare with someone else’s recipe, or wonder why a dough feels wetter than expected, check which number each of you means.
Hydration of common breads
These are the added-water percentages in BakeMemo’s built-in recipes — a starting point, not a rule. Flours absorb water differently, so the same number can feel different on your flour.
| Bread | Hydration |
|---|---|
| Steamed buns (mantou) | 48% |
| Plain bagel | 56% |
| Neapolitan pizza dough, pita | 62% |
| Baguette | 72% |
| Basic white sourdough (plus 20% starter) | 72% |
| No-knead rustic boule | 76% |
| Whole wheat rustic boule | 78% |
| Ciabatta, classic focaccia | 80% |
| Rye sourdough (plus 20% starter) | 80% |
The basic white sourdough is 450 g bread flour, 324 g water, 90 g starter and 9 g salt. Counting the starter (100% hydration): 495 g flour, 369 g water — about 74.5% total hydration.
Changing hydration: how much at a time
- Change only hydration. The example in BakeMemo’s Baking basics: bake the base formula, then raise only hydration by 3% next time, compare, and decide whether to keep it.
- Too wet, sticky and hard to shape: when hydration is already 75% or more, BakeMemo’s after-bake check says “possibly too much water” and suggests lowering hydration by 3–5% and changing nothing else. The trade-off: the crumb may be a bit tighter.
- Sticky at a moderate hydration: gluten may need more strength. Do a few more sets of folds and work with wet hands rather than adding flour.
Write down this bake’s hydration, dough temperature and result, so the next bake shows what those 3% did. See how to log a bake.
Let the app work out total hydration
Enter grams on a BakeMemo recipe sheet and hydration updates live. Set your starter’s hydration (100% by default) and total hydration counts the flour and water inside it. 62 recipes and your first three bakes are free, no sign-up.
Download on theApp Store — freeFormula numbers on this page come from BakeMemo’s built-in recipes. Flours, climates and methods vary widely — go by how your dough actually looks and feels.