A sourdough hydration calculator decomposes your starter into its hidden flour and water components to calculate the true overall dough hydration. Enter recipe flour, water, starter weight, and starter hydration percentage to see the real baker's percentage — not the misleading base recipe number.
Recipe & Starter
Hydration Analysis
Artisan Sourdough Gear
Scaling high-hydration doughs requires absolute precision; guessing your levain weight with cup measures will ruin your crumb structure. A high-resolution baker's digital scale (accurate to 0.1g) is mandatory for measuring out your salt and starter. Once your dough is mixed, monitoring bulk fermentation is critical. A straight-sided Cambro proofing container allows you to easily track when your dough has increased in volume by exactly 30% or 50%.
How to Calculate True Sourdough Hydration
Hydration in bread baking is the ratio of water to flour, expressed as a percentage. In standard yeasted breads, this is simple: 750g of water divided by 1000g of flour equals 75% hydration. However, sourdough bakers must account for their starter (levain), which is itself made of flour and water. If you add 200g of a 100% hydration starter to your dough, you are secretly adding 100g of water and 100g of flour to your final mix. Ignoring this hidden weight results in a "base hydration" that is artificially low. LevainLogic deconstructs your levain based on its specific hydration level (whether it's a liquid levain or a stiff lievito madre), adds those values to your main recipe, and calculates the exact "true hydration" of your final dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is true hydration vs. base hydration in sourdough?
Base hydration is the simple ratio of recipe water to recipe flour, ignoring the starter. True hydration accounts for the hidden flour and water inside your sourdough starter. A 100% hydration starter is 50% flour and 50% water by weight. Adding 200g of this starter adds 100g flour and 100g water to your final dough — changing the true hydration significantly.
What hydration percentage makes the best sourdough bread?
It depends on the bread style: bagels and pretzels use 50-55%, sandwich loaves use 60-68%, classic boules use 70-78%, ciabatta uses 80-85%, and focaccia uses 80-100%+. Higher hydration produces more open crumb but is harder to handle. Start at 70% and increase as your shaping skills improve.
How does starter hydration affect dough texture?
A stiff starter (50-60% hydration) adds proportionally more flour than water, effectively lowering your dough's hydration and producing a tighter crumb. A liquid starter (100%+) adds equal or more water, raising hydration and producing a more open, airy crumb. The calculator shows exactly how much each type shifts your final hydration.