From flour to workable dough

How much water can your flour handle?

Choose your flour, what you want to bake and how supple the dough may be. You get a sensible starting point with room to adjust, not a magically exact number.

Flour brand, protein level and mixing method still matter.
WORKABLE RANGE67%good starting point62%72%335 gwater for 500 g flourFIRMERMORE SUPPLE

Your dough

Choose your starting point

Not completely sure? Choose the flour that makes up most of your recipe and start with ‘Comfortably workable’.

Which flour do you mainly use?
What do you want to bake?
How do you like your dough?

Practical starting point

Your water guide

Start around67%

firmer62–72%more supple

Water at target
335 g
Add first
318.2 g
Hold back
16.8 g

How to approach it

  1. First mix the flour with the suggested initial amount of water.
  2. Rest the dough for 15–20 minutes, then feel it again.
  3. Add the held-back water little by little; you can stop at any point.

Stronger bread flour can often carry more water, but it also needs enough mixing or folding.

This is a starting guide, not a limit. Temperature, resting, mixing and the specific flour determine how much water feels right.

Want to turn this into a complete recipe?

Take this percentage to the advanced calculator, then add salt, leavening and any extra ingredients.

Open advanced calculator