What does 60% hydration mean in sourdough?

60% hydration means the dough contains 60 grams of water for every 100 grams of flour, by weight. It is a baker's-percentage convention: flour is always 100%, and other ingredients are expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight.

Which sourdough styles use 60% hydration?

Tortilla Sourdough, Pizza ny Style, English Muffin. See each style's page for the full recipe formula.

How do I convert 60% hydration into grams of water?

Multiply total flour weight by 0.6. For example, 500g flour × 0.6 = 300g water. Use the calculator below to handle salt, levain, and starter-discount math automatically.

Hydration reference · beginner

Sourdough at60% hydration

Tight to moderately tight crumb. Small to medium cells. Firm chew. Good for sandwich loaves.

Typical styles: Tortilla Sourdough · Pizza ny Style · English Muffin

What does 60% hydration look like?

Tight to moderately tight crumb. Small to medium cells. Firm chew. Good for sandwich loaves.

Technique for 60% dough

Firm but pliable dough. Good for shaping into specific forms (tortillas, muffins, pizza). Less sensitive to mistakes than higher hydrations. Handles well with minimal flour on work surface.

Try the calculator at 60% hydration

Adjust the target hydration, salt, and levain below. All outputs update as you type, with starter discount applied.

Total flour(g)

Target hydration(%)

Salt(%)

Levain of flour(%)

Levain hydration(%)

Flour to add: 450 g
Water to add: 250 g
Salt: 10 g
Levain @ 100%: 100 g
Total dough: 810 g
Effective hydration: 60%

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.

Open 60% hydration guide →

Popular recipes at 60% hydration

How to convert 60% to grams of water

Multiply total flour weight by 0.6. For a 500g flour dough at 60% hydration, that is 300 g of water.

Remember that the levain contributes some of the flour and water. The calculator above subtracts the levain's contribution automatically so the numbers you weigh on the counter are the real ones.