Sourdough Hydration Calculator
Calculate sourdough hydration for your recipe.
Loading calculator…
What this tool does
Calculate sourdough hydration for your recipe. Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
How to use the Sourdough Hydration Calculator
- Enter or select added flour (grams).
- Enter or select added water (grams).
- Enter or select preferment mass (grams).
- Enter or select preferment reference.
- Enter or select custom starter hydration (%).
- Enter or select whole egg mass (grams).
- Enter or select butter mass (grams).
- Read the calculated result; change any measurement to compare alternatives.
Formula
starter flour=starter/(1+hydration/100); starter water=starter−starter flour; total hydration=(water+starter water+egg×0.75+butter×0.16)/(flour+starter flour)×100
- flour
- Added flour (grams)
- water
- Added water (grams)
- starter
- Preferment mass (grams)
- type
- Preferment reference
- hydration
- Custom starter hydration (%)
- egg
- Whole egg mass (grams)
- butter
- Butter mass (grams)
Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
Worked example
For sourdough hydration calculator, the following measurements illustrate the exact method: Added flour (grams): 500; Added water (grams): 350; Preferment mass (grams): 100; Preferment reference: custom; Custom starter hydration (%): 100; Whole egg mass (grams): 0; Butter mass (grams): 0.
Inputs
- Added flour (grams)500
- Added water (grams)350
- Preferment mass (grams)100
- Preferment referenceCustom
- Custom starter hydration (%)100
- Whole egg mass (grams)0
- Butter mass (grams)0
Result
- Total effective hydration (%)72.73
- Total flour (grams)550
- Total water contributions (grams)400
Results explained
- Total effective hydration (%)
- Total effective hydration (%) from the formula above. Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
- Total flour (grams)
- Total flour (grams) from the formula above. Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
- Total water contributions (grams)
- Total water contributions (grams) from the formula above. Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
Frequently asked questions
starter flour=starter/(1+hydration/100); starter water=starter−starter flour; total hydration=(water+starter water+egg×0.75+butter×0.16)/(flour+starter flour)×100
Preferment hydration is water/flour mass; whole egg is approximately 75% water and butter 16%. Enriched dough behavior differs from plain-water hydration.
No. Cooking time is a planning estimate only. Verify internal temperature with a thermometer and follow official food-safety instructions.
Weigh ingredients when possible, use the correct measuring-cup standard, and check recipe and equipment specifications.
No. Every input and calculation stays in your browser.