Bakers Percentage Bread Recipe Generator

Baker's percentage: the universal language of bread recipes

Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100 %; water becomes the hydration figure; salt, yeast, sugar, fat and inclusions all relate back to flour. It is the universal notation in professional bakeries because it scales effortlessly from a 500 g home loaf to a 50 kg industrial batch without recalculating anything but flour weight.

Flour:   1000 g  (100 %)
Water:    700 g  (70 % hydration)
Salt:      20 g  (2 %)
Yeast:     10 g  (1 %)

Typical hydration ranges

• White sandwich bread: 60–65 %
• Baguette: 70–75 %
• Ciabatta: 75–85 %
• Pizza Napoletana (Caputo recipe): 60 %
• Sourdough: 65–85 % (advanced bakers push higher)
• Focaccia: 75–90 %
• Brioche: 50–60 % (butter and eggs add their own hydration)

Higher hydration means a wetter, stickier dough that is harder to shape but produces a more open crumb and crispier crust. Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread (2010) popularised 80 %+ sourdough; the 2020 pandemic baking boom pushed many home bakers into that range.

Flour types and protein content

Different flours absorb water differently. T55 (French) and 00 (Italian — finest grind, ideal for Napoletana pizza) sit around 10–12 % protein; US bread flour reaches 12–14 %; all-purpose is 10–12 %; whole wheat drinks 5–10 % more water due to the bran. In Brazil, Marília 00 dominates artisan pizza and Anaconda covers professional bread. Protein content correlates with maximum hydration the dough can hold without collapsing.

Technique that follows the math

Stretch and fold replaces machine kneading at high hydration — every 30 minutes during bulk fermentation, fold the dough on itself four times. Levain (sourdough starter) is wild yeast plus lactic and acetic bacteria, maintained at 100 % hydration. Bulk fermentation runs 4–12 h at room temperature; cold retard in the fridge overnight develops flavour and stiffens the dough for shaping. Home bakers mimic a commercial oven by baking inside a preheated Dutch oven, which traps steam and gives a thin, glassy crust.

Brazilian bakeries setting the bar

References in São Paulo and beyond: Padaria da Esquina, Padoca do Maní (Helena Rizzo), Levain BR, St. Etienne. Most run spiral mixers in production; home cooks use a KitchenAid stand mixer or knead by hand with the slap-and-fold technique developed by Richard Bertinet.

FAQ

Is salt really mandatory? Yes. Beyond flavour, salt tightens the gluten network, slows yeast activity (controlling fermentation) and improves crust colour. Standard is 1.8–2.2 % of flour weight.

Dry vs fresh yeast? Fresh yeast weighs roughly three times instant dry for the same leavening: 1 % dry equals 3 % fresh. Active dry sits in between (about 1.25× the dry).

How high can I push hydration? Start at 65 % until shaping feels natural, then climb. Above 80 % you need very high-protein flour, long autolyse and confident folds — otherwise the dough turns into batter.

Why does my crust never crack open? Three usual culprits: under-fermented dough, no steam in the oven (try a Dutch oven), or shy scoring. Score with a fresh razor at a 30° angle, about 6 mm deep.