Understanding Bread Dough Hydration: From 60% to 85%
What hydration percentage means, how it changes the way dough feels and bakes, and how to pick (and adjust) the right hydration for your bread and your flour.
What Hydration Means
Hydration is the weight of water divided by the weight of flour, written as a percentage. A dough with 1,000 g flour and 700 g water is 70% hydration. Because it's a ratio of weights, it works for any batch size.
When flour meets water, two of its proteins (glutenin and gliadin) link up into gluten, a stretchy network that traps the gas made by yeast. More water lets those proteins move and connect more easily, so gluten develops with less kneading. It also makes the dough slacker and stickier, which is harder to shape.
The Hydration Spectrum
As a rough guide for doughs made with white bread or all-purpose flour:
- 50-58%: stiff doughs such as bagels and pretzels. Firm, smooth, and easy to roll without sticking.
- 60-66%: everyday doughs for sandwich loaves, rolls, and many pizzas. Easy to knead by hand and holds its shape well.
- 68-75%: classic sourdough and baguettes. Soft and a little tacky. Stretch-and-folds during the first rise help build strength.
- 78-85% and up: very wet doughs such as ciabatta and focaccia. Loose and sticky; handle with wet hands and a bench scraper.
How Hydration Changes the Bread
Wetter doughs tend to bake into a more open crumb with bigger, irregular holes and a thinner, crispier crust. The extra water turns to steam in the oven and helps the loaf expand, and the softer dough lets bubbles grow larger.
Drier doughs give a tighter, more even crumb that slices neatly. That's why sandwich bread and bagels sit at the low end, and rustic loaves at the high end. Neither is "better"; it depends on the bread you want.
Your Flour Changes the Numbers
Different flours absorb different amounts of water, so the same hydration can feel very different:
- Higher-protein bread flour absorbs more water than all-purpose, so it feels firmer at the same percentage.
- Whole wheat and other whole-grain flours absorb much more. A 100% whole wheat dough often needs 75-85% to feel like a 68-70% white dough, and it keeps soaking up water as it rests.
- Flour stored in a humid place already holds some moisture, so you may need a little less water.
Counting Milk, Eggs, and Butter
Water isn't the only source of moisture. When you calculate hydration for an enriched dough, count the water in other ingredients too:
- Whole milk is about 88% water.
- Whole eggs are about 75% water.
- Butter is about 16-18% water.
Where to Start
If you're new to bread, a dough around 65-68% hydration is the most forgiving. It's soft enough for a pleasant crumb but not so sticky that it's hard to knead and shape. Once you're comfortable, raise the water a few percent at a time.
For wet doughs, a few tricks help: wet your hands instead of flouring them, use a bench scraper to move the dough, and build strength with gentle stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes during the first rise rather than long kneading.
Common questions
Does sourdough starter count toward hydration?
Strictly, yes: a starter fed equal weights of flour and water adds both. Many recipes list hydration without it, which is why our Bread Recipe Calculator shows both figures.
Why is my dough wetter than the recipe describes?
Most often the flour is lower in protein, or the water was measured by volume. Weigh the water, and if it's still too wet, hold back 20-30 g next time.