Understanding Dough Hydration
Hydration is just water weight divided by flour weight. A 75% hydration dough has 750g of water per kilo of flour. That single number predicts almost everything about how your dough will feel, ferment, and bake.
The honest ranges
- 60–65%: bagels, pretzels. Stiff, obedient, boring.
- 68–75%: the sweet spot for most home sourdough. Open crumb without tears.
- 80%+: ciabatta territory. Instagram bait. Do not start here.
Flour matters more than the number: a strong bread flour at 78% handles like a supermarket all-purpose at 68%. When a recipe fails, suspect the flour before you suspect yourself.