Culinary & Baking Math

Intermediate

Dough Hydration

Water as a percentage of flour — controls how open and airy the crumb is.

Formula

H = \frac{m_{water}}{m_{flour}} \times 100

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Variables

HHydration (%)

m_{water}Water weight

m_{flour}Flour weight

Example

375 g water, 500 g flour: H = 75%

Did You Know?

Ciabatta runs at 80%+ hydration, which is why the wet dough is nearly impossible to knead by hand.

baking hydration dough

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