Baker’s Percentages Made Simple (Even for Kids!)

If you love baking sourdough or any kind of bread, you’ve probably seen something called baker’s percentages. They look a little confusing at first, but once you understand them, they make baking way easier. Think of them like a secret code bakers use to make recipes simple, repeatable, and easy to scale up or down.

What Are Baker’s Percentages?

Baker’s percentages are a special way bakers measure ingredients.

Here’s the trick: the flour is always 100%.

Everything else is measured as a percentage of the flour.

So if you know how much flour you’re using, you can figure out the rest of the recipe with simple math.

It’s like saying:

“If flour is the boss, how much of each ingredient does the boss need?”

Why Do Bakers Use Percentages?

Because it helps you:

• Change the size of a recipe easily

• Understand how wet or dry a dough will be

• Compare different recipes

• Make your baking more consistent

It’s like having a recipe that always works, no matter how big or small you make it.

A Simple Example

Let’s say your recipe uses:

• • 1000 grams of flour

• • 700 grams of water

• • 20 grams of salt

• • 200 grams of sourdough starter

Using baker’s percentages:

• Flour = 100%

• Water = 700 divided by 1000= 70

• Salt = 20 divided by 1000= 2

• Starter = 200 divided by 1000 = 20

So this recipe is:

• 70% hydration (that’s how wet the dough is)

• 2% salt

• 20% starter

Now imagine you want to make a smaller batch. You just pick a new flour amount and use the percentages to calculate the rest. Easy.

How to Use Baker’s Percentages at Home

1. Start with your flour amount.

2. Multiply the flour by each percentage.

3. Weigh everything using a kitchen scale.

4. Mix, rest, shape, bake — and enjoy.

Example:

If you want to use 500 grams of flour and your recipe is 70% hydration, then:

• Water = 500 x 0.70 = 350 grams

• Salt = 500 x 0.02 = 10 grams

• Starter = 500 x 0.20 = 100 grams

Same recipe, just smaller.

Why This Matters for Sourdough

Sourdough bakers especially love percentages because:

• Hydration changes the texture

• Salt affects fermentation

• Starter amount changes timing

Once you understand percentages, you can tweak your dough to be softer, chewier, more open, or more structured — whatever you love.

Helpful Tools for Using Baker’s Percentages

Kitchen Scale (A Must‑Have!). This is the one I use -OXO Good grips. Alternative less expensive option -Nicewell food scale

To use baker’s percentages, you need a digital kitchen scale. It helps you measure ingredients accurately so your dough turns out the same every time.

Final Thoughts

Baker’s percentages aren’t scary — they’re actually a simple way to make your baking more fun and predictable. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to adjust recipes, scale them up for your bakery, or make tiny test batches at home. For additional guidance below is a helpful chart.

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BAKER’S PERCENTAGES QUICK CHART

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FLOUR IS ALWAYS 100%

All other ingredients are compared to the flour.

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COMMON SOURDOUGH PERCENTAGES

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Ingredient | Typical Percentage

Flour | 100%

Water

(Hydration) | 60% – 85%

Salt | 1.8% – 2.5%

Starter | 10% – 30%

Sugar/Honey | 2% – 10% (optional)

Oil/Butter | 2% – 10% (optional)

Seeds/Mix‑ins | 5% – 30% (optional)

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HOW TO CALCULATE AN INGREDIENT

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1. Start with the flour amount.

2. Multiply flour by the ingredient’s percentage.

Example:

Flour = 500 g

Water = 70% → 500 × 0.70 = 350 g

Salt = 2% → 500 × 0.02 = 10 g

Starter = 20% → 500 × 0.20 = 100 g

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QUICK REFERENCE: WATER AMOUNTS

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Flour Amount | 60% Water | 70% Water | 80% Water

-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------

250 g | 150 g | 175 g | 200 g

500 g | 300 g | 350 g | 400 g

750 g | 450 g | 525 g | 600 g

1000 g | 600 g | 700 g | 800 g

• Higher hydration = softer, more open crumb

• More starter = faster rise

• Salt helps control fermentation

• Weighing ingredients makes bread more consistent

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