Sourdough Hydration Calculator
Perfect your sourdough by accurately calculating the dough's total hydration. This tool accounts for the flour and water in your starter for precise results.
Dough Components
Your Dough Results
Overall Dough Hydration
72.7%
Moist: Slightly wetter dough, leading to a more open crumb.
Total Flour
550.0 g
Total Water
400.0 g
Understanding Sourdough Hydration
What is Hydration?
In baking, hydration is simply the percentage of water relative to the amount of flour. A dough with 500g of flour and 350g of water has a hydration of 70%. This simple number has a huge impact on everything from how the dough feels to the final texture of the bread.
Our calculator takes this a step further by including the flour and water from your sourdough starter, giving you the true overall hydration of your dough.
Why It Matters
Higher hydration doughs generally lead to a more open, airy crumb and a crispier crust. However, they are also stickier and more challenging to work with. Lower hydration doughs are stiffer, easier to shape, and produce a tighter, more uniform crumb, typical of sandwich loaves.
Understanding and controlling hydration allows you to consistently produce the type of bread you prefer. For related calculations, see our Baker's Percentage Calculator.
A Quick Guide to Hydration Levels
Frequently Asked Questions
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