Sourdough Hydration Calculator ·
Change water from the total flour
Target added water = total flour × target hydration ÷ 100 − starter water. For 500 g added flour and 100 g of 100% hydration starter, total flour is 550 g and starter water is 50 g. Keep those inputs fixed when comparing different targets.
Three targets for the same flour
At 65%, add 307.5 g water. At 70%, add 335 g. At 75%, add 362.5 g. Each five-percentage-point increase adds 27.5 g water because the total flour is 550 g. These are formula comparisons, not promises that every flour will handle each target equally well.
Choose a manageable starting point
There is no single best hydration for every loaf. Flour composition, mixing, fermentation and handling all affect how dough feels. Use a recipe suited to your flour as a baseline. If you are learning, a manageable dough is more useful than chasing a very high percentage. Change one variable and record the result before changing another.
Hold back water and record what you use
You can reserve a small part of the calculated water during mixing, then add it gradually if the dough can take it. Record the actual amount incorporated, including water used to dissolve salt. If you withhold 20 g from the 75% example, the final hydration is (342.5 + 50) ÷ 550 × 100 = 71.36%. The original target no longer describes that dough.
Sticky does not always mean too much water
High water content can make handling difficult, but flour strength, dough development and fermentation also matter. Do not assume that adding flour is the only repair. Compare when the dough became difficult and how it changed during fermentation. For the next bake, make a small measured adjustment. If the calculator gives negative added water, your starter already exceeds the target water allowance; change the starter amount or target rather than adding a negative amount.