Sourdough hydration chart
This is the lookup table, not the explainer. Find your flour weight down the left, your target hydration across the top, and read off the water in grams. Everything below the chart is the fine print that makes the numbers land: how flour type shifts them, and how to count the water already in your starter.
If you want the concept rather than the numbers, start with sourdough hydration explained.
Water by flour weight and hydration
| Flour | 65% | 70% | 72% | 75% | 78% | 80% | 85% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 g | 195 g | 210 g | 216 g | 225 g | 234 g | 240 g | 255 g |
| 400 g | 260 g | 280 g | 288 g | 300 g | 312 g | 320 g | 340 g |
| 450 g | 293 g | 315 g | 324 g | 338 g | 351 g | 360 g | 383 g |
| 500 g | 325 g | 350 g | 360 g | 375 g | 390 g | 400 g | 425 g |
| 600 g | 390 g | 420 g | 432 g | 450 g | 468 g | 480 g | 510 g |
| 750 g | 488 g | 525 g | 540 g | 563 g | 585 g | 600 g | 638 g |
| 800 g | 520 g | 560 g | 576 g | 600 g | 624 g | 640 g | 680 g |
| 1000 g | 650 g | 700 g | 720 g | 750 g | 780 g | 800 g | 850 g |
For any weight not in the table, the arithmetic is water = flour x hydration. 550 g of flour at 76% is 550 x 0.76 = 418 g of water. The hydration calculator does it both ways, including working backward from water you have already added.
What each band feels like
| Hydration | Handling | Crumb | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-65% | Firm, kneadable | Tight and even | Sandwich loaves, bagels, first bakes |
| 68-72% | Supple, holds shape | Moderately open | Everyday loaves, learning to shape |
| 73-78% | Slack but workable | Open, irregular | Country loaves, most recipes online |
| 79-85% | Sticky, needs wet hands | Very open, glossy | Ciabatta-style, experienced hands |
| 85%+ | Pourable | Wild and uneven | Focaccia, pan bakes |
Adjust for your flour
The chart assumes a standard white bread flour. Flour type changes how much water the same number actually delivers, because absorption varies with protein and bran.
| Flour | Adjustment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Strong bread flour (12-14% protein) | Baseline | More gluten carries more water |
| All-purpose (10-11% protein) | Subtract 3-5% | Weaker structure slackens sooner |
| Whole wheat | Add 5-8% | Bran absorbs a lot, and slowly |
| Rye | Add 5-10% | Absorbs heavily, no real gluten network |
| Spelt | Subtract 3-5% | Extensible and slack; wet spelt spreads |
So a dough that behaves like 75% white flour is roughly 70% in all-purpose and roughly 82% in whole wheat. If you swap flour and keep the number, expect a different dough.
Bran also drinks slowly. With more than about 20% whole grain, give the dough a 45-60 minute rest after mixing before you judge the feel, or you will add water that the flour was about to absorb anyway.
Count the starter
Starter is flour and water, so it changes your real hydration. A 100% hydration starter is half flour, half water by weight.
| Starter added | At 100% hydration | Flour it adds | Water it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 g | 1:1 | 25 g | 25 g |
| 100 g | 1:1 | 50 g | 50 g |
| 150 g | 1:1 | 75 g | 75 g |
| 200 g | 1:1 | 100 g | 100 g |
Worked example. 500 g flour, 375 g water, and 100 g of 100% starter is not 75%. Total flour is 550 g and total water is 425 g, so the real figure is 77%. That 2 point gap is exactly why one baker’s 75% loaf handles nothing like another’s.
A stiff starter at 50% hydration brings two thirds flour and one third water, so 100 g of it adds 67 g of flour and 33 g of water. The baker’s percentage calculator accounts for the starter so the overall number is the honest one.
Where to start
Pick 72% with a strong bread flour for a first proper loaf. It shapes without fighting back and still bakes open. Move up 2-3% at a time once a dough at that level feels routine, and change one thing per bake so you can tell what the water actually did.
These are starting points, not rules. Flour brands vary, kitchens vary, and the dough in your hands is the better judge than any table.