Sourdough Hydration Calculator

Determine your true dough hydration by calculating the exact water and flour contributed by your sourdough starter.

Recipe Ingredients

g

Unmixed dry flour added directly to the mixing bowl.

g

Base liquids added to your autolyse or dough mix.

g

Weight of active starter or ripe levain used.

Ratio of water to flour fed to your starter.

%

Enter your intended hydration to calculate precise recipe adjustments.

Total Hydration
66.7%

Moderate Hydration · Great handling & shape retention

Dough Breakdown

Total Flour: 600.0 g
Total Water: 400.0 g
Starter Water Contributed: 50.0 g
Target Adjustment (70%)

Add 20.0 g water (or reduce 28.6 g flour)

The Science of Sourdough Hydration

In artisan bread baking, hydration represents the ratio of liquid to flour by weight, expressed as a baker's percentage. While commercial yeast recipes often count only bowl water against dry flour, true sourdough baking requires a complete accounting of your starter.

Consider our standard test recipe: mixing 500g of dry bread flour with 350g of water and 100g of 100% hydration sourdough starter. Because a 100% starter is built with equal parts flour and water, that 100g inoculation introduces 50g of additional liquid. Factoring in this levain water elevates the total moisture to 400g of water against 600g of total flour, producing a true total hydration of 66.7%. If you neglected the starter, you would mistakenly assume your hydration was 70.0% (350g / 500g).

How Flour Absorption Dictates Dough Handling

Not all flours absorb water equally. White all-purpose flour has a protein content of roughly 10.5% to 11.5% and easily saturates at 65% to 68% hydration. High-protein bread flours (12.7% to 14.0%) contain stronger gluten-forming proteins (glutenin and gliadin) that thirstily bind up to 75% water without feeling sticky.

Whole grains behave differently. Stoneground whole wheat, spelt, and rye absorb significantly higher volumes of water due to the presence of bran and pentosan gums. An 80% hydration dough prepared with 50% whole wheat often feels firmer and more manageable than a 72% hydration dough made entirely with unbleached white flour.

Handling Characteristics Across Hydration Levels

  • 60% – 65% Hydration: Stiff and muscular. Ideal for sandwich loaves, bagels, and pretzels. Dough is easy to knead, holds tight tension during scoring, and yields a uniform, closed crumb.
  • 66% – 74% Hydration: The artisan sweet spot. Offers excellent dough extensibility with sufficient structure for lofty boules and batards. Easy to score with intricate decorative patterns.
  • 75% – 85% Hydration: High to extreme hydration. Yields a glossy, gelatinized, open crumb (alveoli) with a crispy blistered crust. Demands gentle stretch-and-folds, coil folds, and rapid transfer into a preheated Dutch oven.
Baker's Tip: When testing a new brand of flour, start 3% below your target hydration. It is always easy to add 20g of reserve water (bassinage) during the second fold if the dough feels tight.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Does starter count toward hydration?

Yes, absolutely. A mature sourdough starter is composed almost entirely of flour and water (typically at equal 100% ratios). If you add 100g of 100% hydration starter to your dough, you are adding 50g of water and 50g of flour. Omitting this in your baker's formula distorts your actual moisture content and can make high-starter loaves sticky and hard to shape.

What hydration should sourdough bread be?

For beginner to intermediate bakers, 65% to 72% hydration is the ideal sweet spot. At this range, the dough is extensible yet holds its shape during shaping, giving a tall oven spring with clean scoring. Advanced bakers working with high-protein bread flours or whole grains often push hydration between 75% and 82% for a wilder, more open, custard-like crumb.

Is 80% hydration too wet?

80% hydration is not inherently too wet, but it requires strong, high-protein bread flour (13%+ protein) or thirsty whole-grain flours (such as whole wheat or rye) along with disciplined coil folds. If you attempt 80% hydration with standard all-purpose flour, the dough will likely puddle on the peel because the gluten network cannot hold that volume of free water.