What is baker's percentage and how is it calculated?

• A. A system where flour weight is 100%; all other ingredients are expressed as a percentage of flour weight.
• B. A system where sugar is baseline.
• C. All ingredients are measured by volume.
• D. Only water is expressed as percentage.

Answer: (B)

In baker's percentage, flour is the reference point and set at 100%. Every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the flour’s weight. To calculate, multiply the flour weight by the ingredient’s percentage, or more directly: take the ingredient’s weight, divide it by the flour weight, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage. For example, with 500 g of flour and 300 g of water, the water percentage is 60%.

This method scales recipes easily for different batch sizes because you’re always comparing ingredients to the flour, not to total dough weight, and it relies on weight rather than volume. It applies to all ingredients—salt, sugar, fats, yeast, etc.—all expressed as a percentage of flour.

The idea that sugar is the baseline, or that ingredients are measured by volume, or that only water is expressed as a percentage, doesn’t describe baker’s percentage.