Bread calculator

The calculator uses baker's percentages to calculate how much flour, water, and salt you will need to make bread that weights the amount you specify (before baking). Baker's percentage is a standard way of specifying the ratio of ingredients in bread where the weight of the flour is expressed as 100%, and the water (where it's called hydration) and other ingredients are a percentage of the flour weight. A typical bread made from white bread flour will have a hydration around 65% (meaning 65 grams of water for every 100 grams of flour in the bread), while a bread made with whole grains usually has a higher hydration due to the absorbtion of water by the whole flours.

The use of a pre-ferment is optional, but it will enhance the crumb and stability of your bread if you use one. Typically these are either a liquid sourdough starter, or a sponge at a high hydration. For sourdough, you generally want between 20 and 40% pre-ferment percentage depending on if it's a white bread or rye. The calculator will generate the values for a three-stage sourdough build. Ignore these lines if you're using a sponge. Ignore all the pre-ferment stuff if you're not using one.

The chart on the right shows weights for various baker's percentages. These can be useful for adding other ingredients like oils, nuts and sugars.