The Complete Baker’s Percentage Chart: Every Hydration, Starter, and Salt Combo
This is a lookup chart, not a tutorial. If you know what hydration and starter percentage you want, find the row and column and read off your gram weights. No math required.
For everything that isn’t a round percentage, use our sourdough calculator — it handles any combination. The charts below cover the 90% of cases that home bakers actually use.
How to read these charts
- Pick your flour weight: 500 g (1 loaf), 750 g (1.5 loaves), 1,000 g (2 loaves).
- Find your target hydration row (65–85%).
- Cross-reference the starter column (15%, 20%, or 25%).
- Salt is a flat 2% of flour — reading across its own column.
Everything assumes 100%-hydration starter (50% water + 50% flour by weight). These are ingredient weights to add, not total flour/water including starter contributions.
500 g flour batch (one standard loaf, 700–900 g dough)
| Hydration | Water | Starter @15% | Starter @20% | Starter @25% | Salt @2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 325 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 70% | 350 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 75% | 375 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 78% | 390 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 80% | 400 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 82% | 410 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
| 85% | 425 g | 75 g | 100 g | 125 g | 10 g |
500 g flour + 375 g water + 100 g starter + 10 g salt = 985 g dough — the classic one-loaf combo.
750 g flour batch (1.5– 2 loaves, ideal for sharing)
| Hydration | Water | Starter @15% | Starter @20% | Starter @25% | Salt @2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 488 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 70% | 525 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 75% | 563 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 78% | 585 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 80% | 600 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 82% | 615 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
| 85% | 638 g | 113 g | 150 g | 188 g | 15 g |
1,000 g flour batch (2 loaves or a big pan)
| Hydration | Water | Starter @15% | Starter @20% | Starter @25% | Salt @2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 650 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 70% | 700 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 75% | 750 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 78% | 780 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 80% | 800 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 82% | 820 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
| 85% | 850 g | 150 g | 200 g | 250 g | 20 g |
Salt-adjustment overlay
Default is 2% salt. For hot kitchens or whole-grain loaves, adjust down. For long cold retards, adjust up.
| Flour weight | Salt @1.8% | Salt @2.0% | Salt @2.2% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 9 g | 10 g | 11 g |
| 750 g | 13.5 g | 15 g | 16.5 g |
| 1,000 g | 18 g | 20 g | 22 g |
See our salt percentage guide for when to adjust.
True hydration (including starter water)
The charts above show water added. If you want to know the true hydration of your finished dough (including the water from the starter), use this quick formula:
True hydration = (added water + starter ÷ 2) ÷ (flour + starter ÷ 2) × 100
Example: 500 g flour, 375 g added water, 100 g starter:
- Total flour = 500 + 50 = 550
- Total water = 375 + 50 = 425
- True hydration = 425 ÷ 550 × 100 = 77.3%
Recipes written at “75% hydration” typically mean the added water only. Knowing the true number helps you troubleshoot when a dough feels wetter or drier than expected.
Common batch sizes and what they yield
| Flour | Dough @ 75%/20%/2% | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| 250 g | 490 g | 1 small loaf or 2 pizza balls |
| 500 g | 985 g | 1 standard country loaf |
| 750 g | 1,475 g | 1 large loaf or 2 medium |
| 1,000 g | 1,970 g | 2 standard loaves or 1 large pan |
| 1,500 g | 2,955 g | 3 loaves (typical weekend bake) |
The 3-step lookup ritual
- Decide the total size. 500 g flour = 1 loaf. 1,000 g = 2.
- Pick hydration by flour. Bread flour: 75–80%. All-purpose: 68–72%. Whole wheat: 75–82%. See hydration by flour type.
- Pick starter % by schedule. Overnight bulk = 15%. Daytime = 20%. Same-day rush = 25%.
Cross-reference in the chart. Ingredients in grams. Go.
When to ignore this chart
If any of these apply, drop the chart and use the calculator:
- Non-round percentages (e.g., 73.5% hydration, 18% starter)
- Non-100% hydration starter (a stiff starter changes the math)
- Enriched doughs with oil, butter, eggs, honey
- Flour blends where part of the flour is pre-milled into the levain
- Pizza or focaccia with style-specific ratios (see our pizza calculator guide)
The usable takeaway
Print this page. Laminate it or stick it to a cupboard door. 80% of your bakes will use one of the rows in the 500 g table, and the other 20% are handled by the calculator. After your first few bakes, the charts will feel obvious — but the first time you need to halve a recipe at 6 AM without doing math, you’ll be glad it’s there.
This is the last piece of the puzzle. With the cheat sheet, this chart, and our calculator, you have every number in sourdough covered. The rest is practice.