Baker's Percentage

Introduction
One way for all of us to strive to be better bakers is to understand how to apply "tools of the trade." One of
these tools is Baker's Percentage. Professional bakers do not use "recipes". They use "formulas".
Formulas show basic proportions of ingredients calculated and e!pressed as percentages. Formulas also
contain instructions.
"n informed baker can infer a wealth of information when analy#ing a formula. This information often
includes but is not limited to the relationship of one ingredient to another the hydration or water content
of the dough the mi!er type mi!ing speed and time the stage of dough development the desired dough
temperature the primary fermentation time including the time in which to turn and fold the dough the rest
time the shaping techni$ue including how to handle the dough and what e$uipment such as boards or
cloth may be necessary the final proof time and temperature and the bake time and temperature. "ll of
this information allows the baker to know not only how the dough will behave but also what to e!pect in
the appearance taste and te!ture of the bread.
%ith practice and familiarity this method will allow a baker to work "off of the grid"' to decide on a desired
bread to pinpoint its characteristics and to then develop one's own formula truly from scratch that yields
e!actly the bread visuali#ed. &t's a very powerful tool.
Baker's Percentage
'ach ingredient in a formula including the li$uid is measured by weight. There is an advantage in using
the metric system for this purpose. &t is more precise and less confusing than the weight and measure
system ordinarily used in the (nited )tates. &n the metric system units of weight and measure are based
in increments of *+. This makes it easier to both calculate and resi#e formulas. &t is important to weigh the
flour because the te!ture of various flours and the e!tent to which they are packed down affects how
much or how little space they may take up. %eighing the flour leaves less room for error.
Baker's Percentage is not the same as true percent. &n true percent the total of the ingredients always
add up to *++,. &n Baker's Percentage the weight of the flour in the formula e$uals *++,. "ll the other
ingredients are calculated in proportion to the weight of flour. The mathematical e$uation is- .%eight of
ingredient divided by weight of total flour/ times *++ 0 ingredient ,.
Table & shows a formula for 1Pane 2asereccio3-
Table I
Ingredient Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all-purpose flour 500 g. 00
Water !"0 g. #$
%alt 0 g. $
&east 0g. $
Total 'ough ((0 g. #"%
)*T+, #"% does not represent true percent. It represents the su- of the
percentage of each ingredient in the for-ula or the percentage of the total
dough.
The percentages are calculated as follows- )ince we know that the weight of the flour .4++ g/ is *++, we
divide the weight of the water .56+ g/ by the weight of the flour .4++ g/ which is e$ual to the decimal .78.
%e multiply .78 by *++ to convert the decimal to a percent. The result is 78, water. ..56+94++/ : *++ 0
78,/. (sing the same calculation for the salt and yeast ..*+94++/ ! *++/ results in 8, salt and 8, yeast.
&f more than one flour is used in a formula the sum of the weight of all the different flours is e$ual to
*++, with each of the flours being a certain percentage of the sum of the flour. For e!ample if a formula
includes ;++ g of unbleached all<purpose flour and *++ g of whole wheat flour the sum of the weight of
the flour is 4++ g .;++=*++ 0 4++/ which is e$ual to *++,. The unbleached flour is e$ual to >+,
..;++94++/ ! *++ 0 >+,/ and the whole wheat flour is e$ual to 8+, ..*++94++/ ! *++ 0 8+,/ of the sum
of the flour.
%hen a pre<ferment is made as part of a specific formula or when the proportions in a pre<ferment differ
greatly from those in the final dough the pre<ferment can be treated in the same way as other ingredients.
Table && shows a formula for 1Pane 2asereccio3 in which the weight of the pre<ferment is calculated
separately and e!pressed as a percentage of the flour weight in the final dough-
Table II
Pre-fer-ent
Ingredient Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all-purpose flour 00 g. 00
Water "0 g. "0
&east $ g. $
Total Biga "$ g. "$%
.inal dough
Ingredient Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all-purpose flour 500 g. 00
Water !"0 g. #$
%alt 0 g. $
&east 0g. $
Biga "$ g. !$
Total 'ough 0/$ g. $0(%
The percentages are calculated as follows- )ince we know the weight of the flour in the pre<ferment .*++
g/ is *++, we divide the weight of the water .6+ g/ by the weight of the flour .*++ g/ and multiply by
*++ to get 6+, water. ..6+9*++/ ! *++ 0 6+,/. %hen we divide the weight of the yeast .8 g/ by the
weight of the flour .*++ g/ and multiply by *++ we get 8, yeast. ..89*++/ ! *++ 0 8,/. %hen we divide
the total weight of the pre<ferment .*68 g/ by the weight of the flour in the final dough .4++ g/ and
multiply by *++ we get 58,. ..*6894++/ ! *++ 0 58,/.
)ome formulas with a pre<ferment base ingredient proportions on the weight of all the flour in the formula
i.e. the flour in the pre<ferment plus the flour in the final dough. Table &&& shows the same ingredients as
those listed in Table && with the difference that the weight of the flour in the pre<ferment has been added
to the weight of the flour in the final dough.
Table III
Ingredient Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all-purpose flour "00 g. 00
Water /$0 g. #0
%alt 0 g. $
&east 0g. $
Total 'ough 0/$ g. #/%
The percentages are calculated as follows- )ince we know that the weight of flour in the pre<ferment is
*++ g and the weight of the flour in the final dough is 4++ g when we add the two we get 6++ g which is
e$ual to *++, flour. %hen we add the water in the pre<ferment .6+ g/ to the water in the final dough 56+
we get ;8+ g. .6+= 56+ 0 ;8+/. %hen we divide the total weight of the water .;8+ g/ by the total weight of
flour .6++ g/ and multiply by *++ we get 7+, water. ..;8+96++/ ! *++ 0 7+,/. By adding the yeast in the
pre<ferment .8 g/ to the yeast in the final dough .*+ g/ we get *8 g yeast. %hen we divide the total
weight of the yeast .*8 g/ by the total weight of flour .6++ g/ and multiply by *++we get 8, yeast.
..*896++/ ! *++ 0 8,/. )ince the pre0ferment does not contain salt the weight and percent of the salt
remain the same.
There is an additional way in which to display a formula which includes a pre<ferment. The information
contained in Table II and Table III has been combined and is displayed below. "ll calculations of Baker's
Percentages remain the same. &t is only the display that changes here.-
Total .or-ula Biga .inal 'ough
Ingredient Weight Bakers % Weight Baker's % Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all
purpose .lour
"00 g. 00 00 g. 00 500 g 00
Water /$0 g. #0 "0 g. "0 !"0 g. #$
%alt 0 g. .# 01 --- --- 0 g. $
&east $ g. $ $ g. $ 0 g. $
Biga --- --- --- --- "$ g. !$
Total
0/$ g. #!.# "$ g. "$ 0/$ $0(
)ote , %ince the Biga does not contain salt2 the percent salt in the Total .or-ula is .#%
0003"001 4 00 5 .""%12 and the percent salt in the .inal 'ough is $% 00035001 4 00 5 $%1.
?ot only does Baker@s Percentage give bakers an uncomplicated way to compare formulas it also gives
them an clear<cut way to resi#e or scale a formula. Once the percentages are known the calculations are
straightforward. Table &A shows triple the amount of dough in the formula for 1Pane 2asereccio1 in Table
&-
Table I6
Ingredient Weight Bakers %
Unbleached all-purpose flour 500 g. 00
Water 0(0 g. #$
%alt !0 g. $
&east !0g. $
Total 'ough $"/0 g. #"%
The ingredient weights are calculated as follows- &f we divide the desired weight .5!>>+ 0 86;+/ by the
percentage of the total dough in the formula .*76,/ we get the number *4. .86;+9*76 0 *4/. %e now
multiply each ingredient percentage in Table & by *4 and get the numbers shown in Table &A. . Flour-
*4!*++, 0 *4++ g. %ater- *4!78 0 *+>+ g. )alt- *4!8 0 5+ g. Beast- *4!8 0 5+ g.
"nother way in which to calculate the desired weight is to divide the desired weight by the original weight.
.86;+9>>+ 0 5/. %e now multiply each ingredient weight in Table & by 5 and get the numbers shown in
Table &A.. Flour- 5!4++ 0 *4++. %ater- 5!56+ 0 *+>+. )alt- 5!*+ 0 5+. Beast- 5!*+ 0 5+.
'ither of the methods shown above can be used to resi#e or scale a formula up or down i.e. to make
more or less dough.
" point worth noting is that formulas shown in both the metric and () system will not necessarily be in
e!act proportion. Formulas are often constructed in increments of 4++ grams .*98 kilogram/ and *6
ounces .* pound/. &n these instances the yield .batch si#e or amount of dough/ is slightly different
because 4++ grams is e$ual to *7.6 ounces and *6 ounces is e$ual to ;4; grams.
(nderstanding and using Baker@s Percentage increases bakers skills. ?ot only can bakers compare and
resi#e or scale e!isting formulas they also can create new formulas themselves. Baker's Percentage
offers bakers a practical way in which to think about the relationship of one ingredient to another. This is
especially important when thinking about hydration or water content. Codifying the water content i.e.
changing the percent water in a formula is easily accomplished using the Baker's Percentage. )ince
hydration is critical to the development of different styles of bread and the consistency of bread dough is
a function of its moisture content & have included the rough guidelines found in 2hart & which relate the
consistency of dough to the percentage water content-
7hart I
7onsistenc8 Water 7ontent +4a-ple
6er8 %tiff 55 to 5( % Bagels
%tiff to .ir- "$ "5% Pane di 7asa
%oft "5 to #0% .ocaccia
%oft 9 %lack #0-(0% 7iabatta
Breads of ?orth "merica typically fall into the range of )tiff to Firm and Coderately Firm dough. Breads
of France such as the baguette typically fall into the range of Coderately Firm dough. Breads referred to
as country style or rustic typically fall into the range of )oft dough. Breads of &taly such as ciabatta and
focaccia typically fall within the range of )oft and )lack dough.
Dydration or water content can not be considered alone but rather in relation to the type of flour in a
formula. Eifferent flours have different rates of water absorption. For instance whole<wheat and rye flour
absorb more water than does white flour. This is largely due to the nature or kind of protein present in the
flour. "s an e!ample the amount of protein in wheat and rye flour is similar but when rye flour is made
into a dough by the addition of water the gluten that is formed is not the same as when wheat flour is
treated in the same manner. This also holds true for the difference in dough made with white as opposed
to whole<wheat flour.
&n summary Baker's Percentage is a useful and effective tool that enhances the skill and creativity of the
baker.