Baking Ratio Calculator

Understanding Baker's Percentages

Baker's percentages are the universal language of professional baking. Unlike home recipe measurements that rely on cups and tablespoons, baker's percentages express every ingredient as a proportion of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%, and every other ingredient is a percentage of that flour weight. If a bread recipe calls for 62% water, that means for every 1,000 grams of flour, you use 620 grams of water.

Why Bakers Use Ratios Instead of Fixed Measurements

Professional bakers prefer ratios because they make scaling recipes effortless. Whether you are making two loaves or two hundred, the math stays simple: decide how much flour you need, then multiply by each percentage. Volume measurements like cups are notoriously inconsistent — one person's cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 grams depending on how it was scooped. Weight-based ratios eliminate that variability entirely, producing consistent results batch after batch.

Baker's percentages also make it easy to compare recipes at a glance. A bread with 75% hydration (like focaccia) will behave very differently from one with 62% hydration (like pizza dough). You can immediately tell which dough will be wetter, which will need more kneading, and roughly what the final texture will be — all from the numbers alone.

How to Scale Any Recipe by Weight

To scale a recipe up or down, follow these steps. First, determine your target total dough weight. Divide that by the sum of all baker's percentages (expressed as a decimal) to find the required flour weight. Then multiply the flour weight by each ingredient's percentage to get the exact amount needed. For example, if basic bread totals 166% (100% flour + 62.5% water + 2% salt + 1.5% yeast), and you want 830 grams of dough, your flour weight is 830 / 1.66 = 500 grams.

Key Ratios for Common Baked Goods

• Lean breads (baguettes, ciabatta) typically run 60-75% hydration with minimal fat and sugar. Higher hydration produces a more open crumb with larger air pockets.
• Enriched doughs (brioche, challah) add fat, eggs, and sugar which tenderize the crumb and extend shelf life. Butter percentages of 30-50% create the rich, soft texture these breads are known for.
• Pastry doughs (pie crust, tarts) use high fat ratios (60-70% butter) and minimal water (20-30%) to create flaky layers. Over-hydrating pastry dough makes it tough instead of tender.
• Batters (pancakes, cakes) often exceed 100% liquid because they need to pour rather than be shaped by hand. Pancake batter at 120% milk is intentionally thin for even cooking on a griddle.

Tips for Accurate Baking by Weight

Invest in a kitchen scale that reads in single-gram increments. Measure flour by weight, not volume, for repeatable results. When working with small quantities of ingredients like salt or yeast, a scale with 0.1-gram precision is ideal. Tare your bowl between each ingredient to streamline the process. Once you switch to weighing ingredients, you will find it faster and cleaner than measuring cups — and your baking will improve noticeably with the added consistency.