Hydration formula, starting with total dough weight?

Profile picture for user Wholywheat

Hi all,

I need to know how to calculate flour and water weight, based on total dough weight.

if I need to mix up 1 kg of dough @ 65% hydration, how do I get there.  At this point I just guess, do the math and adjust my numbers until I get there.  Not efficient at all 🥴

Thank you!

1kg=1000g

65% hydration means 100parts flour and 65 parts water, together, 165parts.

How much does each part weigh?

1000g = 165*X

X = 1000g/165= 6.06g

Flour is 100parts, i.e. 606g

The remainder of 1000g of dough is water, 394g.

Verifying: 394/604 gives 0.65 or 65% hydration.

 

Total dough, divided by total parts, multiplied by 100 = flour, flour minus total dough = water

1000 / 165 * 100 = 606 - 1000 = 394

65% hydration of 1000 total dough = 606/394

You’re awesome Mariana, thank you!!

I just wrote it out and took a screen shot for my own records.

Not sure why I’ve never seen this formula in any of my text books.

 

You summarized it very well!

I see a possible typo in the last line though. Baker's percent is any ingredient divided by flour.

For example, hydration is water/flour, i.e 394/606*100% = 65%

It's pretty easy, just add up all the bakers percentages and divide that into your desired dough amount and multiply by 100 for your flour, and then go from there.

For simplicity, assuming your formula is just flour and water (and rounding to whole numbers):

 % 
100  flour
 65   water
165  total

Your desired amount of dough is 1000 gm (1 kg)
1000/165 x 100 = 606 gm flour
606 x .65 = 394 gm water               Then check your math:  606 + 394 = 1000

If you want 2% salt, for example, and yeast or any other ingredient included, you simply add those into the percentage total:

100 + 65 + 2 = 167%

1000/167 x 100 = 599 gm flour
599 x .65 = 389 gm water
599 x .02 = 12 gm salt                      599 + 389 + 12 = 1000

see how it works?

Profile picture for user Abe

New weight / Old weight. Then multiply each ingredient with the answer. 

So 100g flour + 65g water = 165g dough @ 65% hydration.

But you want 1000g dough!

So 

1000 / 165

Then multiply both the 100g flour and 65g water with the answer.

Profile picture for user jo_en

Hi,

I made a foodgeek bread calculator file:

https://fgbc.dk/3a7n

I set it for 1000 g total dough.  Use 606.1 g flour and 393.9 g water.

You can change total dough: Just enter it at the top at "Total". Then the flour and water will automatically be adjusted.

I hope this helps!

With algebra:

Let x = total flour

0.65x + x = 1000

1.65x=1000

x = 1000/1.65=606