Quick answer
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. 350 g of water with 500 g of flour is 70% hydration.
Enter the flour and water weights. The calculator returns hydration as a percentage. Use this dough hydration calculator to check your own figures.
Related tools: Baker's Percentage Calculator: Each ingredient as a percentage of flour weight. Cake Pan Size Conversion Calculator: Batter scale factor between two pan sizes. Cooking Ingredient Converter: Convert between volume and weight for common baking and cooking ingredients, using USDA gram weights per cup.
How to use the Dough Hydration Calculator
- Enter flour (g) (above 0).
- Enter water (g) (0 or more).
- Press Calculate to see the result, and use Reset to start again.
| Input | What to enter | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | A number, in g | > 0 |
| Water | A number, in g | ≥ 0 |
Formula and method
Formula
hydration = water ÷ flour × 100
IEEE-754 double precision; shown to the decimals indicated.
Include water and flour from any starter if you want the true total hydration.
Worked examples
These examples are verified: each one is an automated test case that the live calculator must reproduce exactly.
Example 1
Inputs: Flour = 500; Water = 350.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Hydration | 70% |
Example 2
Inputs: Flour = 1000; Water = 750.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Hydration | 75% |
Example 3
Inputs: Flour = 300; Water = 255.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Hydration | 85% |
The first line is the headline result (hydration). IEEE-754 double precision; shown to the decimals indicated.
What hydration means for bread
Sandwich loaves are often 60 to 65%, ciabatta 75 to 85% and focaccia up to 90%. Higher hydration gives a more open crumb but a stickier dough that is harder to shape.
Include the water in other ingredients
Liquid starters, milk and eggs contain water. For precise hydration count the water they carry (a 100% hydration starter is half flour, half water). Use weights.
How the result changes with flour
Holding every other input at the first worked example, this table changes only flour. It shows how sensitive the answer is to that one value; each row was produced by running this calculator.
| Flour | Hydration |
|---|---|
| 250 | 140% |
| 500 | 70% |
| 1000 | 35% |
| 2000 | 17.5% |
What happens with invalid input
These messages are produced by the calculator itself, so you know what to fix.
- Flour: entering "0" shows "Flour must be greater than 0." beside that field and no result.
- Water: entering "-1" shows "Water must be at least 0." beside that field and no result.
Choosing between the Dough Hydration Calculator and similar calculators
Each row shows what a related calculator on this site asks for and what it returns, so you can pick the one that matches your question.
| Calculator | You enter | It returns |
|---|---|---|
| [Baker's Percentage Calculator](/cooking/baker-percentage-calculator/) | flour weight and other ingredient weights | Flour |
| [Cake Pan Size Conversion Calculator](/cooking/cake-pan-size-conversion-calculator/) | original pan, original pan: diameter or length and new pan | Batter scale factor |
| [Cooking Ingredient Converter](/cooking/cooking-ingredient-converter/) | ingredient, convert and amount | Weight |
| [Butter Conversion Calculator](/cooking/butter-conversion-calculator/) | i have and amount | Butter |
| [Turkey Cooking Time Calculator](/cooking/turkey-cooking-time-calculator/) | turkey weight and weight unit | Roasting time |
Background: cooking measurements
For baking, weight is more reliable than volume. A cup holds a fixed volume but its weight depends on the ingredient's density, and a cup of flour can vary by 20 to 30 grams depending on how it is scooped, so published gram-per-cup values for the same ingredient differ from site to site. Spoon and level flour if you must measure by volume.
Check which cup a recipe uses: the US cup is 236.588 mL, while a metric cup is 250 mL.
Assumptions and limitations
- Use weights
Cooking times are guides. Use a food thermometer to confirm safe internal temperatures.
If a required value is empty, not a number, or outside its allowed range, the form marks that field with a message and shows no result instead of a misleading number. The automated checks deliberately try invalid entries for flour and water to confirm this.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good hydration for beginners?
Beginners usually find 60 to 68% hydration easiest to handle; wetter doughs of 75% or more are stickier to shape.
Does salt count in the percentage?
No, only flour and water.
How do I calculate with a starter?
Add its flour and water to the totals.
What does the Dough Hydration Calculator calculate?
Hydration percentage of a dough. It returns Hydration.
What formula does the Dough Hydration Calculator use?
hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Include water and flour from any starter if you want the true total hydration.
What do I need to enter in the dough Hydration Calculator?
You enter Flour (g) and Water (g).
How is the result rounded or limited?
IEEE-754 double precision; shown to the decimals indicated. Use weights.
What is an example of a dough Hydration result?
With flour 500 and water 350, the hydration is 70%.
Where does the method come from?
The method follows: Baker's percentage convention.
Can I rely on this calculator for a decision?
Cooking times are guides. Use a food thermometer to confirm safe internal temperatures. For this calculator in particular: Use weights.
Related calculators
- Baker's Percentage Calculator — Each ingredient as a percentage of flour weight.
- Cake Pan Size Conversion Calculator — Batter scale factor between two pan sizes.
- Cooking Ingredient Converter — Convert between volume and weight for common baking and cooking ingredients, using USDA gram weights per cup.
- Butter Conversion Calculator — Convert butter between sticks, tablespoons, cups, grams and ounces.
Sources
- Baker's percentage convention
Content last reviewed 2026-11-04. Formulas and worked examples are checked by automated tests against independently computed values.