Baker's Percentages: The Formula Behind Every Good Loaf
Professional bakers do not memorise hundreds of recipes. They memorise ratios, and baker's percentages are the simplest ratio system in baking.
What is the Baker's Percentage Calculator?
In baker's percentages, flour is always 100 percent and every other ingredient is measured against it. This calculator turns your recipe weights into those percentages, which makes scaling and comparing recipes far easier than working from raw grams alone.
How to use it
- Enter the flour weight in grams.
- Enter water, salt, and yeast weights.
- Click Calculate Percentages to see the formula.
Worked example
With 500 g flour, 350 g water, 10 g salt, and 7 g yeast, the percentages are water 70 percent, salt 2 percent, and yeast 1.4 percent, with a total dough weight of 867 g.
What are the baker's percentages for 500 g flour, 350 g water, 10 g salt, and 7 g yeast?
Water 70 percent, salt 2 percent, and yeast 1.4 percent, with flour itself always at 100 percent.
Frequently asked questions
Why is flour always 100 percent?
Because every other ingredient is compared with flour, the main structural ingredient. It keeps formulas comparable even when batch sizes differ.
How do I scale a recipe with percentages?
Pick a new flour weight, then multiply it by each percentage. A 70 percent hydration dough with 1000 g flour needs 700 g water.