Sourdough Hydration Explained

In this post I’ll take you through explanations of: Why it’s important to know about hydration in your dough. How you can use hydration calculations to affect the crumb, texture and crust of your bread. And more!

The lower the hydration, the stiffer the dough.

How Much is Too Much?

If during the bulk ferment, you can see water seeping out at the top of the dough container, then this is a sign that the flour has absorbed all it can and the upper limit to the hydration level has been reached.

Starter Hydration Level

You can easily change the hydration level of your starter by simply adjusting the amount of flour and water you feed it.

Calculate Hydration Levels

The hydration calculation will be “Total amount of water” divided by “Total amount of flour”, and multiplied by 100. This number is the hydration level of your dough in percentage.

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