Hydration guide
Emmer Flour (Farro) Hydration Guide
Workable range: 65–75% · Absorption: 0.950× bread flour · Midpoint target: 70%
How Emmer Flour (Farro) behaves at each hydration
Emmer (Triticum dicoccum, known as farro medio in Italy) is an ancient hulled wheat, intermediate between einkorn and modern wheat in gluten behavior. Absorption is 5% less than bread flour. Flavor is nutty and earthy, more robust than spelt but gentler than whole wheat. Jovial Foods and Central Milling both offer emmer. Use at 25-50% in blends for complex flavor profiles. Popular in Tuscan-style hearth breads and rustic Italian loaves. Supports hydration up to 75% but no higher.
Substituting Emmer Flour (Farro) for bread flour
Absorption multiplier: 0.950×. When substituting for bread flour, subtract about 5% water. For example: a 75% bread-flour recipe becomes 71% when using 100% Emmer Flour (Farro).
The calculator below is pre-set to 70%. Adjust the slider to match your target. Salt and levain percentages are the flour-independent defaults (2.0% and 20%).
Technique at target hydration
Medium autolyse (30-45 min). 2-3 gentle stretch-and-folds. Moderately extended bulk (similar to bread flour). Emmer tolerates retarded proofing well. Pair with 20-30% bread flour for structure support in free-form hearth loaves.
Calculator pre-set to 70%
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 300 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 860 g
- Effective hydration
- 70%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.