Calculate sourdough hydration including starter

Calculate total dough hydration and salt percentage with the flour and water inside the starter included.

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ToolSourdough Hydration Calculator
Input
Output
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How it works

Starter flour equals starter mass ÷ (1 + hydration decimal), and the remainder is starter water; both portions are added to the main formula. Total water and salt are then divided by total flour, which baker’s percentage defines as 100%.

Formula
total hydration % = total water ÷ total flour × 100
  • Zero starter or salt represents a formula without that ingredient.
  • Starter hydration starts at the equal-water-and-flour 100% baseline but remains editable.

Worked example

A 70% loaf with starter
500g flour, 350g water, 100g starter at 100% hydration
Input
											Flour grams: 500
Water grams: 350
Starter grams: 100
Salt grams: 10
Output
												Dough hydration: 70
Total hydration: 72.7
Salt percent: 1.8
Total flour: 550
Total water: 400
Total dough: 960

When to use this

Sourdough formulas include levain in overall hydration, bakers compare dough consistency through flour-based percentages, and salt is checked against total flour.

Edge cases

  • A 100 g starter at 100% hydration contributes 50 g flour and 50 g water, not 100 g of both.
  • A 60% stiff starter and a 125% liquid starter split identical total mass differently, changing overall hydration.
  • Egg, oil, fruit, and other liquids are absent from the fields and therefore are not counted as water.

References