How it works: All flours together are 100%. Each ingredient's percentage = its weight ÷ total flour × 100, and going the other way, weight = percentage × total flour ÷ 100. When scaling by dough weight, total flour = dough weight ÷ (sum of percentages ÷ 100). Hydration counts liquids only; the figure including starter adds the flour and water inside the starter using the starter hydration.

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The language recipes are written in

Professional bakers rarely write “500 g of flour and 350 g of water”. They write “flour 100%, water 70%”. Baker’s percentage expresses every ingredient as a share of the total flour weight, with all the flours together counting as 100%. Once a recipe is written that way you can scale it to any size, compare it with another at a glance, and see immediately whether it is wet, salty or rich.

This calculator works in both directions. Give it weights and it shows the percentages; give it percentages and a size, and it returns weights. It suits bread, pizza and enriched doughs alike.

Two ways to use it

Choose a Direction first.

With Weights to percentages:

Fill in the ingredient rows. Each row has a name, a type and an amount.
Set the type carefully. Mark every flour as Flour, water and milk as Liquid, sourdough culture as Starter, and anything else as Other.
Use Add ingredient for extra rows and the × button to remove one.
Set Starter hydration if you use a starter.

With Percentages to weights:

Under Scale the recipe by, choose Total flour weight or Total dough weight, then enter Total flour or Total dough.
Enter each ingredient’s percentage. The flour rows must add up to exactly 100%.

The results show Total flour, Total dough and Hydration, a table listing every ingredient with its Weight and Baker’s %, plus Hydration including starter and Sum of percentages.

Worked example: reading and then scaling a recipe

A friend’s recipe uses 800 g bread flour, 200 g whole wheat flour, 750 g water, 150 g starter and 22 g salt. With Weights to percentages selected, the calculator reports:

Total flour: 1,000 g
Total dough: 1,922 g
Hydration: 75%
Bread flour 80%, whole wheat flour 20%, water 75%, starter 15%, salt 2.2%
Hydration including starter: 76.7%
Sum of percentages: 192.2%

The 75% counts liquids only. Including the 75 g of water inside the starter, and its 75 g of flour, gives 825 ÷ 1,075 = 76.7%.

Now you want three 900 g loaves, 2,700 g of dough. Switch to Percentages to weights; the percentages carry over. Choose Total dough weight and enter 2,700. The calculator divides 2,700 by 1.922 to find total flour, then fills in the rest:

Total flour: 1,405 g
Bread flour: 1,124 g
Whole wheat flour: 281 g
Water: 1,054 g
Starter: 211 g
Salt: 31 g

The percentages have not moved, so the bread will behave the same, only larger.

Tips and traps

Only flour counts toward 100%. Seeds, oats or bran added for texture belong under Other, not Flour.
Watch the sum of percentages. It is a quick way to see how heavy the dough is per gram of flour, which is exactly what scaling by dough weight relies on.
Liquid is not only water. Milk is around 87% water, so if precision matters, adjust it or count part of it as Other.
Salt around 2% is typical for bread. Pizza dough often goes a little higher; the pizza dough calculator is set up for that style of formula.
Label your starter. If it is typed as Flour or Liquid, the hydration figures will be off.

For a closer look at how starter changes the real water content, use the sourdough hydration calculator. If you would rather set the loaf size first and have the flour worked out for you, the sourdough recipe builder does that.

Baker’s percentage FAQ

Why does the total come to more than 100%?

Because only the flour equals 100%. Every other ingredient is added on top, so a lean bread usually lands between 170 and 200%, and an enriched dough much higher.

How does starter fit into baker’s percentage?

Here it is listed like any ingredient, as a percentage of the flour rows. The line Hydration including starter then adds the flour and water hidden inside it, using the starter hydration you set.

What happens if my flour percentages add up to 95%?

The calculator stops and tells you the current total. The flours have to make up 100% for the maths to work, so adjust one of them.

Can I use it for enriched doughs like brioche?

Yes. Butter, eggs and sugar go in as Other, and eggs can be counted as Liquid if you want a rough hydration. The percentages will simply be higher.

Is baker’s percentage the same as the percentage of the whole dough?

No. Water at 70% baker’s percentage is about 40% of a lean dough by weight. Always check which one a recipe means.