What does 72% hydration mean in sourdough?

72% hydration means the dough contains 72 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 72% hydration?

Pain au Levain. See each style's page for the full recipe formula.

How do I convert 72% hydration into grams of water?

Multiply total flour weight by 0.72. For example, 500g flour × 0.72 = 360g water. Use the calculator below to handle salt, levain, and starter-discount math automatically.

Hydration reference · intermediate

Sourdough at72% hydration

Increasingly open crumb, medium-to-large cells. Classic Pain au Levain territory. Chewy crust with moist interior.

Typical styles: Pain au Levain

What does 72% hydration look like?

Increasingly open crumb, medium-to-large cells. Classic Pain au Levain territory. Chewy crust with moist interior.

Technique for 72% dough

Dough requires strong gluten development (3-4 stretch-and-folds or coil folds). Shaping benefits from cold retard. Handle with wet hands or flour-dusted bench scraper.

Try the calculator at 72% 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: 310 g
Salt: 10 g
Levain @ 100%: 100 g
Total dough: 870 g
Effective hydration: 72%

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 70% hydration guide →

Popular recipes at 72% hydration

Pain au Levain72%
France · dutch oven · 480°F

How to convert 72% to grams of water

Multiply total flour weight by 0.72. For a 500g flour dough at 72% hydration, that is 360 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.