baker percentage#Dough hydration

A yeast-dough formula could call for the following list of ingredients, presented as a series of baker's percentages:

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There are several common conversions that are used with baker's percentages. Converting baker's percentages to ingredient weights is one. Converting known ingredient weights to baker percentages is another. Conversion to true percentages, or based on total weight, is helpful to calculate unknown ingredient weights from a desired total or formula weight.

To derive the ingredient weights when any weight of flour W_f is chosen:Derived algebraically from Gisslen's formula.

:$\backslash begin\{align\}$

\text{Weight}_\text{ingredient} &= \frac{\text{Weight}_\text{flour} \times \text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}}{100\%} \\

&= \text{Weight}_\text{flour} \times \text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}

\end{align}

File:Waga_elektroniczna.jpg for weighing ingredients.]]

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In the example below, 2 lb and 10 kg of flour weights have been calculated. Depending on the desired weight unit, only one of the following four weight columns is used:

File:1_pesée.jpg

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The baker has determined how much a recipe's ingredients weigh, and uses uniform decimal weight units. All ingredient weights are divided by the flour weight to obtain a ratio, then the ratio is multiplied by 100% to yield the baker's percentage for that ingredient:

File:US_Navy_111220-N-OY799-007_Culinary_Specialist_Seaman_Matthew_Ryback_measures_flour_in_preparation_for_the_Christmas_meal_in_the_bake_shop_aboard_t.jpg

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Due to the canceling of uniform weight units, the baker may employ any desired system of measurement (metric or avoirdupois,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yz0mF7pXZ38C&pg=PA11 |author1=Rees, Nicole |author2=Amendola, Joseph |title=The baker's manual: 150 master formulas for baking |publisher=J. Wiley |location=London |year=2003 |page=11 |isbn=0-471-40525-6 |access-date=2010-12-06}} etc.) when using a baker's percentage to determine an ingredient's weight. Generally, the baker finds it easiest to use the system of measurement that is present on the available tools.

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The total or sum of the baker's percentages is called the formula percentage. The sum of the ingredient masses is called the formula mass (or formula "weight"). Here are some interesting calculations:

• The flour's mass times the formula percentage equals the formula mass:{{cite book |editor=Quartermaster Corps |title=Army baker |year=1939 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington |id=Training Manual No. 2100-151 |pages=38–41 |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=75;id=coo.31924105503084;page=root;seq=41;num=39 |access-date=2012-02-07 |quote=The sum of the percentages of ingredients used in any dough is commonly referred to as the formula percentage (168 percent in example in b above). The sum of the weights of ingredients used in a dough is commonly referred to as formula weight (462 pounds in example in c above).}}

:$\backslash begin\{align\}$

\text{Formula mass} &= \text{Mass}_\text{flour} \times \text{Formula percentage} \\

\frac{\text{Formula mass}}{\text{Formula percentage}} &= \text{Mass}_\text{flour}

\end{align}

• An ingredient's mass is obtained by multiplying the formula mass by that ingredient's true percentage; because an ingredient's true percentage is that ingredient's baker's percentage divided by the formula percentage expressed as parts per hundred, an ingredient's mass can also be obtained by multiplying the formula mass by the ingredient's baker's percentage and then dividing the result by the formula percentage:

::$\backslash begin\{align\}$

\text{Mass}_\text{ingredient} &= \text{Formula mass} \times \text{True percentage}_\text{ingredient} \\

\text{True percentage}_\text{ingredient} &= \frac{\text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}}{\text{Formula percentage}} \times 100\% \\

\text{Mass}_\text{ingredient} &= \text{Formula mass} \times \frac{\text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}}{\text{Formula percentage}} \\

&= \frac{\text{Formula mass} \times \text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}}{\text{Formula percentage}}

\end{align}

:Thus, it is not necessary to calculate each ingredient's true percentage in order to calculate each ingredient's mass, provided the formula mass and the baker's percentages are known.

• Ingredients' masses can also be obtained by first calculating the mass of the flour then using baker's percentages to calculate remaining ingredient masses:

::$\backslash begin\{align\}$

\text{Mass}_\text{ingredient} &= \frac{\text{Formula mass}}{\text{Formula percentage}} \times \text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient} \\

&= \text{Mass}_\text{flour} \times \text{Baker's percentage}_\text{ingredient}

\end{align}

• The two methods of calculating the mass of an ingredient are equivalent:

::$\backslash text\{Formula\; mass\}\; \backslash times\; \backslash text\{True\; percentage\}\_\backslash text\{ingredient\}\; =\; \backslash text\{Mass\}\_\backslash text\{flour\}\; \backslash times\; \backslash text\{Baker\text{'}s\; percentage\}\_\backslash text\{ingredient\}$

The use of customary U.S. units can sometimes be awkward and the metric system makes these conversions simpler. In the metric system, there are only a small number of basic measures of relevance to cooking: the gram (g) for weight, the liter (L) for volume, the meter (m) for length, and degrees Celsius (°C) for temperature; multiples and sub-multiples are indicated by prefixes, two commonly used metric cooking prefixes are milli- (m-) and kilo- (k-).{{cite web |url=http://www.jsward.com/cooking/cooking-metric.shtml |title=The Metric Kitchen |access-date=2010-11-30 |archive-date=2010-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208061508/http://www.jsward.com/cooking/cooking-metric.shtml |url-status=live }} Intra-metric conversions involve moving the decimal point.{{cite web|url=http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/piersog/Regular/Worksheets/WS-Metric%20conversion.doc |title=Intra-metric Conversions |format=Doc |access-date=2011-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916205441/http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/piersog/Regular/Worksheets/WS-Metric%20conversion.doc |archive-date=2006-09-16 }}

Common avoirdupois and metric weight equivalences:{{citation |title=Google Calculator |url=https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=ww#hl=en&q=1+kg+equals+how+many+lbs |access-date=2010-12-18 |archive-date=2019-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214161345/https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=1+kg+equals+how+many+lbs |url-status=live }}

:1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces (oz)

:1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g) = 2.20462262 lb

:1 lb = 453.59237 g = 0.45359237 kg

:1 oz = 28.3495231 g.

In four different English-language countries of recipe and measuring-utensil markets, approximate cup volumes range from 236.59 to 284.1 milliliters (mL). Adaptation of volumetric recipes can be made with density approximations:

{{Main|Cup (unit)#Dry measure}}

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Due to volume and density ambiguities, a different approach involves volumetrically measuring the ingredients, then using scales or balances of appropriate accuracy and error ranges to weigh them, and recording the results. With this method, occasionally an error or outlier of some kind occurs.

Baker's percentages do not accurately reflect the impact of the amount of gluten-forming proteins in the flour on the final product and therefore may need to be adjusted from country to country, or even miller to miller, depending on definitions of terms like "bread flour" and actual protein content.{{cite web |url=http://www.kitchensavvy.com/journal/2004/12/q_bread_recipes.html |title=KitchenSavvy: Flour Power? |access-date=2010-12-09 |archive-date=2010-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614221631/http://www.kitchensavvy.com/journal/2004/12/q_bread_recipes.html |url-status=live }} Manipulation of known flour-protein levels can be calculated with a Pearson square.{{cite book |author1=Hosahalli Ramaswamy |author2=Amalendu Chakraverty |author3=Mujumdar, Arun S. |author4=Vijaya Raghavan |title=Handbook of postharvest technology: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tea, and spices |publisher=Marcel Dekker |location=New York, N.Y |year=2003 |page=263 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y4N54Wn618YC&pg=PA263 |isbn=0-8247-0514-9 |access-date=2010-01-07}}{{cite book |author=Van Loon, Dirk |title=The family cow |publisher=Garden Way Pub |location=Charlotte, Vt |year=1976 |page=152 |isbn=0-88266-066-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-efZMh9_WgC&pg=PA152 }}

File:Feinwaage_messend.jpg

In home baking, the amounts of ingredients such as salt or yeast expressed by mass may be too small to measure accurately on the scales used by most home cooks. For these ingredients, it may be easier to express quantities by volume, based on standard densities. For this reason, many breadmaking books that are targeted to home bakers provide both percentages and volumes for common batch sizes.

Besides the need for appropriate readability scales, a kitchen calculator is helpful when working directly from baker's percentages.

Baker's percentages enable the user to:

• compare recipes more easily (i.e., which are drier, saltier, sweeter, etc.).
• spot a bad recipe, or predict its baked characteristics.
• alter or add a single-ingredient percentage without changing the other ingredients' percentages.
• measure uniformly an ingredient where the quantity per unit may vary (as with eggs).
• scale accurately and easily for different batch sizes.

Common formulations for bread{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSarPnb4i6QC&pg=PA207 |author=Reinhart, Peter |title=Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day |publisher=Ten Speed Press |location=Berkeley, Calif |year=2009 |pages=207–209 |isbn=978-1-58008-998-2 |access-date=2010-12-09}} include 100% flour, 60% water/liquid, 1% yeast, 2% salt and 1% oil, lard or butter.

File:High hydration dough.jpg

In a recipe, the baker's percentage for water is referred to as the "hydration"; it is indicative of the stickiness of the dough and the "crumb" of the bread. Lower hydration rates (e.g., 50–57%) are typical for bagels and pretzels, and medium hydration levels (58–65%) are typical for breads and rolls.{{cite web |url=http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs20 |title=SCS 020{{!}} Bread Classifications {{!}} Stella Culinary |access-date=2012-08-25 |archive-date=2023-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108183105/https://stellaculinary.com/scs20 |url-status=live }} Higher hydration levels are used to produce more and larger holes, as is common in artisan breads such as baguettes or ciabatta. Doughs are also often classified by the terms stiff, firm, soft, and slack.{{cite web |url=http://www.theartisan.net/bakers_percentage_revised_2001.htm |title=Bakers Percentages - Revised |access-date=2014-11-28 |archive-date=2014-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203103913/http://www.theartisan.net/bakers_percentage_revised_2001.htm |url-status=live }} Batters are more liquid doughs. Muffins are a type of drop batter while pancakes are a type of pour batter.

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{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100510203808/http://kitchensavvy.typepad.com/journal/2005/08/bakers_percenta.html Baker's percentage]
• [https://archive.today/20130122013705/http://www.eg-software.com/products/egsrecipenet/bakers.aspx?lang=1 Sample recipe]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tRn-PlXk-g Understanding The Baker's Percentage - Video] A video that explains in detail the baker's percentage, its benefits, and best uses.
• [https://bakerspercentage.com Baker's percentage calculator]

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Category:Baking

Category:Percentages