How baker's percentages work
Bakers write recipes with flour as 100% and every other ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight. A dough with 62% hydration has 62 grams of water for every 100 grams of flour, no matter how big the batch. That makes a formula easy to scale, easy to compare with other recipes, and easy to adjust one thing at a time. The percentages add up to more than 100; that's expected.
This calculator works both ways. Start from a flour weight to get each ingredient and the total dough. Or, for pizza, start from how many dough balls you want and how heavy each one should be, and it works backward to the flour.
The formula
total % = 100 + water % + salt % + yeast % + starter % + oil % + sugar %
flour (g) = balls × ball weight ÷ (total % ÷ 100)
starter flour = starter ÷ (1 + starter hydration); starter water = starter − starter flour
effective hydration = (water + starter water) ÷ (flour + starter flour)
Yeast is entered as instant dry yeast. If you use active dry, the calculator multiplies by 1.25; for fresh (cake) yeast, by 3. Those are the usual substitution rules; exact strength varies by brand.
Example: four Neapolitan pizzas
Four 250 g dough balls with the Neapolitan preset: 62% water, 3% salt, 0.2% instant yeast. The total is 165.2%, so the flour is 1,000 ÷ 1.652.
| Ingredient | Percent | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| Flour (Tipo 00) | 100% | 605 g |
| Water | 62% | 375 g |
| Salt | 3% | 18.2 g |
| Instant yeast | 0.2% | 1.21 g |
| Total dough | 165.2% | 1,000 g |
Preset formulas
| Preset | Water | Salt | Instant yeast | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan pizza | 62% | 3% | 0.2% | None |
| New York pizza | 63% | 2.5% | 0.4% | 2% oil, 2% sugar |
| Sandwich loaf | 62% | 2% | 1% | 6% butter or oil, 5% sugar |
| Sourdough loaf | 72% | 2% | 0 | 20% starter at 100% hydration |
| Focaccia | 80% | 2.5% | 1% | 5% olive oil in the dough |
These are common starting points from pizza and bread formulas, not fixed rules. Neapolitan dough usually sits at 58–65% water and 2.5–3% salt with a very small amount of yeast for a long ferment. New York style uses bread flour at 60–65% hydration with a little oil and sugar to help browning in a home oven. The sourdough preset works out to about 74.5% effective hydration once the starter's water and flour are counted.
Tips
- Use a scale that reads 0.1 g for yeast and salt. At pizza quantities, a gram of yeast is the difference between a 24-hour and an 8-hour dough.
- Adjust yeast for time and temperature. Less yeast for long cold ferments, more for same-day dough. Change the yeast percentage, not the rest of the formula.
- Raise hydration gradually. Flours absorb water differently. Go up 2% at a time and hold back some water until you see how the dough feels.
- Count all the flour. When a recipe says "20% starter," check whether its percentages include the starter's flour. This calculator doesn't; the effective hydration line shows the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is baker's percentage?
Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the total flour weight, with flour always 100%. A dough with 1,000 g of flour, 650 g of water and 20 g of salt is 65% hydration and 2% salt. The percentages add up to more than 100, which is normal.
How do I work out flour from the total dough weight?
Add up all the percentages, including flour at 100, and divide the dough weight by that total over 100. For 1,000 g of Neapolitan dough at 100% flour, 62% water, 3% salt and 0.2% yeast, the total is 165.2%, so flour is 1,000 ÷ 1.652 = 605 g.
How does sourdough starter affect hydration?
Starter is part flour and part water. A 100% hydration starter is half of each by weight, so 100 g of starter adds 50 g of flour and 50 g of water. Effective hydration counts that flour and water in the totals, which is why a dough with 72% added water and 20% starter is really about 74.5% hydration.
How do I convert instant yeast to active dry or fresh yeast?
Use about 1.25 times as much active dry yeast as instant yeast, and about 3 times as much fresh (cake) yeast. This calculator takes the yeast percentage as instant dry yeast and converts it to the type you choose.
What hydration should I use for pizza dough?
Neapolitan pizza usually runs 58 to 65% hydration with Tipo 00 flour, and New York style about 60 to 65% with bread flour, plus a little oil and sugar for home ovens. Higher hydration gives a lighter, more open crust but is stickier to shape. Focaccia goes much higher, around 75 to 85%.
How much dough do I need per pizza?
A 10 to 12 inch Neapolitan pizza uses a 230 to 280 g ball, with 250 g a common choice. A 14 inch New York pie takes about 280 to 340 g, and an 18 inch pie roughly 500 to 600 g. Add a few percent to cover dough that sticks to the bowl.
Rates and figures last checked September 2026.
This calculator gives estimates for planning. Check current rates and product labels before you buy, list or file.