Don't make this mistake when calculating baker’s percentages

How to calculate a simple sourdough recipe by hand using baker's percentages.
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[@JimJimmington-e8i]

This is a great video. When I started making breads all of this was complicated feeling but I got the hang of it. This video sort of simplifies the things that no one was quite explaining to me correctly. This is worth watching. Bravo!

[@CulinaryExploration]

I appreciate the comment, thanks, Jim

[@mliberman]

I use this spreadsheet on a regular basis for recipe design when adding discard, changing hydration, incorporating inclusions, or adjusting the flour mix. Very helpful to understand the basis of the calculations. Excellent explanation, Phil!! The graphics are outstanding!

[@CulinaryExploration]

Thanks, Michael, much appreciated :)

[@KogakuKing]

Like many others, I want to express my deep gratitude for this incredibly useful tutorial and calculator. I only have an inkling of how much work it took to make that spreadsheet work as flawlessly as it does! The follow-up “how to” video nailed everything together. I’m trying to find a straightforward way to save and print my final calculations. I’m on a Mac and iPhone. The calculator works well on the Mac. Not sure it will work on my iPhone. Not a problem! It’s an exceptional tool! 🙏🏼

[@CulinaryExploration]

You're welcome. I'm so pleased you found the calculator helpful. It took some time to get right. The beginner's version has just enough functionality to keep it simple but still create great recipes. I only design recipes on my Mac and wouldn't tackle it on my iPhone. But using the Google Drive app on my phone makes it easy to quickly reference recipes when I'm in the kitchen baking. Happy baking, Phil

[@KogakuKing]

⁠@@CulinaryExplorationThank you for your kind response. You referred to a “beginner’s version.” Is there an “advanced” version? All Best, Kogaku

[@rauluribe7828]

It is very rare that I make any comments but I want to say that I followed the steps to make the bread for beginners and it is the first time I have achieved such a beautiful ear on my bread, I am really grateful!!! I would like to know how to make chocolate bread following the same hydration percentage (65%).

[@CulinaryExploration]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm pleased your first bake went well. It's always good to start on a high! I've got a chocolate and cherry sourdough recipe on the channel/website, but it's a little in-depth. Try creating your own formula. You could start with the standard 100% SWBF, 70% water, and 2% salt - try adding 3% cocoa powder, 5% sugar or honey, 15% chocolate pieces, and 15% dried cherries (this is straight off the top of my head and not tested!). If cocoa powder and dried fruits are used, it is worth bumping the hydration up a touch from 65%. The first bake is a fact-finding mission, and then you tweak your formula from there. Keep me posted; I'd love to know how you get on.

[@rauluribe7828]

@@CulinaryExploration Thank you very much for your prompt response!!! That speaks very well of you... I'll try it and see how it goes!! Thank you.

[@CulinaryExploration]

@@rauluribe7828 Awesome, good luck and enjoy the process. Keep me posted, I'm excited to know how you get on.

[@tomb7497]

Excellent content, very professional presentation, and concise. I wish more content providers had the level of communication that you provide. Thank you. I also have accidentally been making my hydration too high.. I think the next bake is gonna be a reboot.

[@gwarski]

Great video I've recently got back in to bread making and after a few standard loaves I've gone back down the sourdough rabbit hole. The first couple of loaves where incredibly wet and I couldn't work out why, until it hit me I'd not accounted for the components of the leven in my bakers math. Today's loaf was so much better, then I saw your video. Great to see it all broken down properly, I can hopefully dial it in more now

[@CulinaryExploration]

Skipping the levain and starter is an easy mistake, but you've cracked it now. Once you've got the recipe dialled in, you don't need to worry about this stage, but it's vital if you want to calculate and adjust accurately. Let me know how you get on.

[@lccfred]

Logical and understandable explanation.

[@MB-yt4mq]

This is what I want to understand better and get a handle on. Another wonderful video. Much appreciated! Thank you. I am hoping to learn more.

[@thomaspickles8178]

You will do for me young man.My baskets are rated at 500g so now i can break the formula down to fit.Thankyou so much you will do well 😊

[@BobbyKhanna-x9u]

An absolutely perfect video to go along with the beginner's calculator you so graciously shared. Thank you Phil! The bread is im'proving' :-)

[@CulinaryExploration]

Keep working with your formulas and the calculator, Bobby. You'll see lots of improvement over time. If you need anything, you know where I am!

[@thomaspickles8178]

Learned more with you in 1 video than the rest put together.Thanks top man😊😊

[@adriangrzymski3847]

I would love a video dedicated to temperature during BF/CF and it's importance/tips & tricks!

[@Cbbq]

Very well explained. The math I knew before but your explanation of the Method was very useful, will need to adjust for your insight …. Cheers from Canada

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers, buddy

[@MarkusKvist-u1t]

Another great video, thanks Phil. But I don´t see why I should bother counting the starter as long as it has the same hydration as my levain. If the hydrations are different then I see a point taking that into consideration. But I guess it´s come to how you work. Me myself, I mix the flour and water that I need for the recipe in my jar with starter. I usually have so much starter left so it will be a ratio of 1:5:6,25 (starter, flour, water). I prefer a hydration of 125% for my levain when making white bread. And then I just take the amount of levain I need. This means that I "leave" the starter proportion out of the recipe and therefor doesn´t have to consider it. But I appreciate you´re taking that into account for there will surely come times when you bake bread and would like to have another hydration in you levain than you have in your starter.

[@matthewp1992]

Very well explained video, thanks you! I have fallen into the trap of thinking that adding the levain weight to the flour and water would be the same hydration and made some questionable bread. Magnus 2.0 is so much better than the first version of your calculator! I used 1.0 and could not work out how to use it correctly, 2.0 is much clearer.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Thanks, Matthew, I'm pleased you like Magnus 2.0. Adding the levain to the total ingredients is an easy mistake to make. Breaking the recipe into its components makes it easier to visualise and understand. Take care, speak soon.

[@Dimiowned]

Fantastic, easy to understand and will clear up a lot of confusion for beginner and intermediate bakers. watch the whole vid.

[@CulinaryExploration]

👍

[@Lagolop]

I have a basic recipe that I tend to use regardless of any inclusions that may be added. The one thing that might vary is the hydration so the H20 changes depending on my mood. So here is my basic recipe and it produces a fantastic crust and crumb. 300g AP or BF, 75g of any whole grain flour like spelt, 120g starter, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt which is ~10g, and anywhere from 250 - 270 g of H20. It seems that no matter of variations it always work out great. Crunchy crust, very open crumb, big oven spring. I am no expert but have been making SD for several years. I just keep using the same recipe. I did use your cherry chocolate recipe and it was really terrific.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Hey Lagolop! It sounds like you've found the perfect base recipe, and it's great to hear you are using a variety of flour. The chocolate and cherry sourdough recipe is a bit of a mission but well worth it! I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@Lagolop]

@@CulinaryExploration I keep it simple. I think we also have very good flour where we live. Even AP flour has a high protein content.

[@CulinaryExploration]

@@Lagolop Ah yes, sorry I forgot, you're living in Canada aren't you.

[@Lagolop]

@@CulinaryExploration yep, western Canada

[@stefanobeninati8560]

I’m learning like a pro.Thank you so much for this very useful info Philip! 🔝😃

[@CulinaryExploration]

You're welcome, Stefano. Keep me posted on your progress, buddy

[@wdjones4735]

What a great video! I love the new format of presentation👍🏻Very sharp Phil! I’m going to start baking again right before Thanksgiving. I’ll let you know how it goes. My starter is still doing great even when I forget to feed it for 2 weeks😆 Thank you for sharing🙂

[@CulinaryExploration]

Pleased you like the format, it took me a while to figure it out. What have you got planned for your first bake?

[@javiergutierrez8547]

Agreed and well explain ! We should take in consideration all the components including starter but must of the recipes do not include it as the final percentages of starter is VERY small. In your example 20 % levain is high

[@CulinaryExploration]

👍 It's good to include the starter to keep track of the hydration, but it also enables us to be accurate with our ingredients. When using this method, it's easy to detail additional flour that may be used only for maintaining a starter (e.g. rye).

[@cindyprickett7185]

Excellent information!! Thank you so much for your amazing explanation! Perfection!

[@CulinaryExploration]

I'm pleased it was helpful 👍

[@karinab4478]

Brilliant, thank you for this video, I'll try it 😊 Although my sourdough is nice (?) , I'd like to get better at controlling hydration and I'm eager to learn new technical tricks. Thank you for this informative video!

[@MarkE-xg9lr]

thank you! i was all over for some propoer explanations and calculations:)

[@alessandropinto5204]

For those of us who sell their loaves it might be more convenient to consider the weight of the baked bread (as accurate as possible) as the initial reference, then work backwards and calculate the total dough weight and then, finally, individual ingredients weight. In my experience you lose about 10 to 15% of weight during baking, but that may change depending on various factors. Maybe there is a formula for that, but as of today I've never heard of one. Of course, if you are selling by fixed weight (i.e. a 500g loaf) you must aim a bit higher so as not to risk selling a loaf lighter than advertised.

[@caroln3564]

Yes.

[@AnandaMunoz]

As a serious beginner, and a bit of a geek, this is tremendously helpful. Thank you. Does anyone have any info on warmer climates? Everykne talks about how important the ambient temperature is as a variable, but I have yet to discover anyone breaking it down. I live in Costa Rica... so it's always warm and very humid. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[@lizchukwu2626]

Thank you for sharing this Phil. 👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽I would imagine that keto friendly and gluten free flour would have a different formula considering that psyllium husk (for instance) that’s used as a binder would increase the hydration levels and make the dough more sticky?

[@lisadurant4689]

I enjoy your videos and recipes so much that I named my starter "Phillip"

[@euphoria-688]

Omg, after watching I have realized the reason I failed many times because I didn’t take into account average hydration between levain and main dough 😂 I used to add 75% straight to dough and add starter, so the hydration goes up above 80% , oh gosh😂

[@CulinaryExploration]

Don't stress, it's a super easy mistake to make. Now you know how to fix it - keep me posted 👍

[@Lagolop]

Higher hydrations like that should give a really nice open crumb but the dough can be a bit more difficult to handle. That said after making some high hydration loaves, it gets pretty easy.

[@euphoria-688]

@@Lagolop for a newbie it’s quite difficult 😂

[@Lagolop]

@@euphoria-688 Yes but after a few times it honestly gets easier to handle wet dough. Light but confident touch.

[@silvermoon3486]

Complex 😮. I need to listen a few more times 😮😐👍🏼

[@CulinaryExploration]

It’s takes some getting used to. But stick with it and you’ll get it 👌

[@robertdewalt8711]

Total overall ingredients is very important. What I do is I have spreadsheet designed where I enter weight of levain to be used, it then calculates amount of flour and water which includes starter amount (flour, water) and flour water from levain build), I add those number in overall recipe in spread sheet where flour, water, salt etc, then have levain section for levain breakdown flour, water, total. Then in final dough part on spreadsheet to the list flour with subtraction of levain flour, water with subtraction of water from levain build, then weight of all the other ingredients. I also set up spreadsheet so that when I enter quantity of dough that I would wish to make and then it automatically calculates all the weights. For bakers precent to work properly overall formula must have total flour and total water, Then amount of levain should be in final formula not overall formula.

[@margobosschart]

I got this but how do you calculate for other types of flour like a multigrain or whole weat?

[@NonnaTeresa-x6q]

Congratulations Philip! I follow your videos with great interest. I am a bit confused about what you define as Starter, that is, I consider the starter as the sum of the starter from the previous day + Water + Flour, with the various ratios (1-1-1 or 1-5-5 etc...) while you see that you divide it only into water and flour... Could you clarify the difference between: Starter, Levian and sourdough? thanks a lot!

[@fincayabisi]

Thank you!

[@CulinaryExploration]

You're welcome!

[@urielsondervan3484]

First Thanks it is a very helpful video I got a question Your starter is only water and flour ?

[@Callonsit]

Good job my dear however I have a question if I’m using a feed ration 1:8:8 how could I calculate the the levain @ 4:43 min

[@chrisdeangelis4616]

Great video Philip! This is the formula that got me into sourdough... I tend to use whole wheat and rye in my dough and like my salt at 2.2%... Any tips on higher or lower hydration for using a soaker/additions? What step to add them at - first or last fold?

[@CulinaryExploration]

Hey Chris, the reboot formula is great for beginners, getting things back on track or as a foundation for developing more complex recipes. It's interesting that you mention salt content. You need to be able to dial the formulas in using Baker's percentages to have a reference point (like 2.2% salt). The topic of soakers and inclusions isn't that straightforward and largely depends on the ingredient and the texture/product you are shooting for. If you are designing a new recipe, I'd suggest testing different methods of soaking versus bumping up the hydration / when and how to include the additions.

[@poljoprivreda1970]

If I ad olive oil for the taste, does it ad to hydration or is it separate variable?

[@TheTinnman]

I saw your video about Jack's scrap method. How do you factor that into this given your starter is just a remnant of what was left over and does not seem to be quantified? You just add the flour and water, mix and let out on the counter. If you want to have a perpetual remnant in the jar of a specific amount to ensure it is truly perpetual is it best to simply add the enough flour in the levain step to have an additional amount left each time?

[@BextaNZ1983]

The Banneton... what measurements is that (length, width, height) so i know what size banneton to buy. Thanks.

[@markmaxwell2765]

So where do you add the variables of inclusions? Just as a weight? Dry inclusions -vs- wet inclusions?

[@CulinaryExploration]

I cover inclusions in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h33ZhKOljrplhrc

[@rebeccahart791]

Hi - I love this explanation, and it makes perfect sense to me! Problem is, do others calculate it differently? I'm at a loss to understand the Perfect Loaf's recipes so that I can scale them down-- and I know he's an expert so I'm clearly missing something. For example in his basic loaf, his total flour is 946g, and his leaven is 17.1%, which would come to ~162g levain. And yet the levain he puts in his recipe is 151g (~16%). I cannot seem to reverse engineer any of his recipes, and again I'm sure it's my issue. Can you help me to understand? Thanks!

[@muskepticsometimes9133]

Great video

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers! 👍

[@amandaalger4991]

Would this same formula work if you're adding a scald to your recipe? I'm wanting to experiment with adding a scald, but don't know how to then calculate the overall hydration and how much water to add to the end dough.

[@charliefrago1380]

What does a levain do? I never use it.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Hey Charlie, if you are baking sourdough, you probably use a levain (or maybe you call it a starter). It's the sourdough culture that's used to inoculate the dough and kick the fermentation off. I hope this helps. Phil

[@charliefrago1380]

@@CulinaryExploration yes, I use a sourdough starter, at about 20% of flour weight.

[@CulinaryExploration]

@@charliefrago1380 That's what I was referring to as the levain, matey.

[@user-vc1nt1kp2n]

How do you account for the weight of the air when fully proofed. A fully proofed dough is heavier than one that is not proofed at all by up to 15%. You say your baneton holds 800g fully proofed dough but your calculations are for pre-proofed weight.

[@kitkanok]

Forget about Artisan baking. You need a match degree to make sourdough bread. Coming to store near you with the added inflation price😮 label "Mathematics. Sourdough"

[@rbrtv5500]

salt 2%?

[@CulinaryExploration]

2% is pretty standard. What's your take on this, are you using a different percentage?

[@terrysmith1790]

Can not get your sourdough calculator.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Hey Terry. Just drop me an email from the site and I’ll get you a copy straight over.

[@RogerCalladine-u8h]

I have found your videos so helpful would love to get the updated version of Magnus jr the link seems to want to download Magnus 2

[@CulinaryExploration]

Hi Roger, I'm really pleased you've found the videos helpful, keep me posted on your progress. The pro version of the calculator is the one we use for recipe design within Sourdough Unchained. If you drop me an email, I'll gladly talk to you more about it.

[@mobilfone2234]

Learn to see, to feel and at some point you will no longer bother about percentage or scales...

[@caroln3564]

Is your levain and starter computation for "presentation" purposes only? Isn't your final hydration level working out to 68%? I would calculate the levain portion as a total (exclusive of that starter line) then break it down to flour, water quantities being added to total starter to form levain i.e. say 20% total levain to total dough (hydration of levain is not necessarily 100% and starter culture added to levain can be 1, 5, 10, 15% of levain) ... then calculate the starter portion as a total weight percentage of the levain (the hydration of starter culture being added can then be stated e.g. 100%, to determine starter flour). Adding back the starter, levain to autolyse dough flours is 100% flour ... the total water for the 3 to total flour is hydration ... then salt ratio to total flour

[@sandhunba]

bro, you can usse recipelator. easy