What does 85% hydration mean in sourdough?

85% hydration means the dough contains 85 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 85% hydration?

Rye 100, Ciabatta Integrale. See each style's page for the full recipe formula.

How do I convert 85% hydration into grams of water?

Multiply total flour weight by 0.85. For example, 500g flour × 0.85 = 425g water. Use the calculator below to handle salt, levain, and starter-discount math automatically.

Hydration reference · advanced

Sourdough at85% hydration

Extremely open, irregular, moist crumb. Large glossy holes dominate. Very thin, crackling crust.

Typical styles: Rye 100 · Ciabatta Integrale

What does 85% hydration look like?

Extremely open, irregular, moist crumb. Large glossy holes dominate. Very thin, crackling crust.

Technique for 85% dough

Pan-baked or stretched on floured surface — not bannetoned or shaped. Requires high-protein bread flour (or rye's pentosan structure). Advanced technique territory.

Try the calculator at 85% 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: 375 g
Salt: 10 g
Levain @ 100%: 100 g
Total dough: 935 g
Effective hydration: 85%

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 85% hydration guide →

Popular recipes at 85% hydration

How to convert 85% to grams of water

Multiply total flour weight by 0.85. For a 500g flour dough at 85% hydration, that is 425 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.