Sourdough Guides

Short, practical guides to go with the free sourdough hydration & baker's percentage calculator. Metric first, with ounces and US/UK/Australian notes where they matter.

• 80% Hydration Sourdough: Exact Weights, Starter Maths & Handling
  What 80% hydration means in grams and ounces, how your starter changes the real figure, a worked one-loaf formula and practical tips for handling wet dough.
• Whole Wheat Sourdough Hydration: How Much Water to Add
  Why whole wheat and wholemeal flour need more water, starting hydration ranges for 25%, 50% and 100% whole grain sourdough, a worked example and mixing tips.
• Sourdough Starter Percentage: How Much Starter Should You Use?
  How to calculate starter (levain) as a baker's percentage, typical 10–30% ranges, a gram table for 500 g and 1 kg of flour, and how starter hydration changes the maths.
• Grams to Ounces Chart for Bread & Sourdough Baking
  Exact grams to ounces and ounces to grams tables for bread and sourdough baking, plus fluid ounce vs ounce, US vs UK vs Australian cups and spoons.
• Bread Flour vs All-Purpose Flour for Sourdough (Plus UK & Australian Names)
  Bread flour, all-purpose, strong white, plain and baker's flour compared for sourdough: protein ranges, US/UK/Australian names, label tips and hydration changes.
• How to Convert Any Sourdough Recipe to Baker's Percentages
  Step-by-step: turn any bread recipe into baker's percentages, check its true hydration including the starter, then scale it to any loaf size or number of loaves.
• Stiff Sourdough Starter (50% Hydration): How to Convert a Recipe
  How to make a 50% hydration stiff starter, swap it into a recipe written for a 100% starter (and back), and keep dough hydration the same. Worked numbers included.
• Levain Build Ratios: 1:1:1, 1:2:2, 1:5:5 and How Much to Make
  What 1:1:1, 1:2:2, 1:5:5 and 1:10:10 starter feeding ratios mean, the hydration they give, and how to build exactly the levain weight your recipe needs.
• Desired Dough Temperature: How to Work Out Your Water Temperature
  The desired dough temperature (DDT) formula for sourdough, with worked °C and °F examples, how to measure your friction factor, and typical target temperatures.
• Rye Sourdough Hydration: How Much Water Does Rye Need?
  Why rye flour behaves differently, typical hydration for light rye and 100% rye sourdough, a worked calculator example and UK/US/Australian rye flour names.
• Dutch Oven & Banneton Size: How Much Dough Do You Need?
  Dough weight guide for Dutch ovens (quarts and litres) and round or oval bannetons, plus how to scale a sourdough recipe to fit the pot and basket you own.
• Sourdough Salt Percentage: How Much Salt to Use
  How much salt to use in sourdough by baker's percentage, a gram table for common flour weights, whether to count the starter's flour, and salt teaspoon weights.
• Sourdough Discard: Flour & Water Maths, Recipe Swaps and Making Less
  How much flour and water is in sourdough discard, how to add it to recipes without changing the batter, and feeding ratios that produce less discard.
• Spelt Sourdough Hydration: How Much Water Does Spelt Need?
  Why spelt usually needs less water than wheat bread flour, starting hydration for white and wholegrain spelt sourdough, a worked example and handling tips.
• Sourdough Sandwich Loaf: How Much Dough for Your Loaf Pan?
  Dough weight by loaf pan size for sourdough sandwich bread: 8.5x4.5 and 9x5 inch pans, UK 1 lb and 2 lb tins, Pullman pans, and a quick volume rule of thumb.