Hydration

The amount of water in a dough compared with the weight of its flour, written as a percentage; 700 g of water to 1,000 g of flour is 70% hydration.

Hydration: A bowl of shaggy bread dough being mixed as water is poured in
  • Food science and baking chemistry

Also called: dough hydration, hydration percentage

Hydration shapes the bread. Lower hydration doughs, around 55 to 65%, are firm and easy to shape and suit bagels and sandwich loaves. Higher hydration doughs, 75% and above, are sticky and slack but bake into open, airy crumbs like ciabatta.

Flour type matters: whole wheat and high-protein bread flours absorb more water than all-purpose flour, so the same percentage can feel quite different. Milk, eggs and other liquids also count toward hydration.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Hydration (Q104880139), Wikidata