If you have a recipe given in baker’s percentages (flour = 100%, water = 65%, etc.), how do you use those percentages to calculate actual ingredient weights for a chosen amount of flour? For example, if you want to use 500 grams of flour at 100%, how much water is 65% of that by weight?

Question

What are baker's percentages? Learn how to use this professional system to easily calculate the exact ingredient weights for any size of loaf.

Answer 1

To calculate the weight of other ingredients based on baker's percentages, multiply the desired flour weight by the percentage of each ingredient (expressed as a decimal). For example, if you want to use 500 grams of flour and the water percentage is 65%, you'll need 325 grams of water.

Detailed Explanation:

Baker's percentage is a way of expressing a recipe's ingredients as a percentage of the total flour weight. Flour is always 100%. This makes it easy to scale recipes up or down. Here's how to calculate the actual weight of each ingredient:

1. Determine the desired flour weight: This is the amount of flour you want to use in your recipe. In your example, it's 500 grams.
2. Convert the baker's percentage to a decimal: Divide the percentage of each ingredient by 100. For example, 65% water becomes 0.65.
3. Multiply the flour weight by the decimal: Multiply the desired flour weight by the decimal value of each ingredient's percentage. This will give you the weight of that ingredient.

Let's apply this to your example:

• Flour: 500 grams (100%)
• Water: 500 grams * 0.65 (65%) = 325 grams

If the recipe also called for 2% salt:

• Salt: 500 grams * 0.02 (2%) = 10 grams

You would repeat this process for each ingredient in the recipe.

Pro Tip:

Always double-check your calculations, especially when scaling recipes significantly. Small errors in percentages can lead to noticeable differences in the final product, particularly in baking. Using a spreadsheet can help automate these calculations and reduce the risk of mistakes.