Fix Your Dough Hydration in Seconds

You measured wrong, your flour is extra thirsty, or the humidity is wild. Tell us what you have and what you want — we'll tell you exactly how much flour or water to add.

Adjust My Dough

Hydration Adjuster

Enter your current dough stats and your target hydration. The adjuster will tell you exactly what to add.

Current Dough

Flour (grams)

Water (grams)

Current Hydration —

Target Hydration

Target Hydration %

Quick Picks

Understanding Hydration

What Is Baker's Hydration?

Hydration is the ratio of water to flour by weight. A 70% hydration dough has 700g water for every 1000g flour. It determines crumb, crust, and handling.

Starter Hydration vs Dough Hydration

Your starter may be 100% hydration (equal parts flour and water). When you mix it into a final dough, its flour and water both count toward the total dough hydration.

How to Fix a Sticky Dough

If your dough is too wet to handle, calculate how much flour to add to bring hydration down by 5–10 percentage points. Add gradually during stretch-and-folds.

How to Fix a Dry Dough

Dry, shaggy dough needs more water. Use this tool to find the exact grams to add, then incorporate with wet hands during folding. Small adjustments make a big difference.

Common Starter Hydrations

Typical sourdough starter feeding ratios and their hydration percentages.
Starter (g)	Flour (g)	Water (g)	Hydration	Consistency
50	100	100	100%	Liquid levain
50	100	80	80%	Soft paste
50	100	65	65%	Stiff levain
50	100	50	50%	Very stiff, pasta madre
50	100	125	125%	Thin batter

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my dough already has salt, starter, or oil?: This calculator focuses on flour and water only. Salt and oil don't significantly change hydration math. Include the flour and water from your starter in your totals for best accuracy.
Can I use this for whole wheat or rye doughs?: Absolutely. Whole grain flours absorb more water, so you might target a higher hydration (80–90%) than with white flour. The math works the same way.
Should I adjust hydration before or after autolyse?: It's easiest to adjust after mixing but before bulk fermentation. Add flour or water gradually during your first set of stretch-and-folds so it incorporates evenly.
How precise do I need to be?: Home bakers can round to the nearest 5 grams. This tool gives you the exact number so you can decide how precise you want to be.