Bread Flour
1.000× absorption · 12.00–13.50% protein · hydration 65–78%
For sourdough, Bread Flour works best at 65–78% hydration. With 12.00–13.50% protein, it absorbs the same water as standard bread flour.
- Protein
- 12.00–13.50%
- Absorption
- 1.000×
- Hydration range
- 65–78%
- Category
- refined-wheat
What is Bread Flour?
Bread flour is the workhorse of hearth-style sourdough. Milled from hard red winter or hard red spring wheat, it provides the 12-13.5% protein content needed to develop the robust gluten structure that supports open crumb and high hydration doughs. The absorption multiplier is the industry baseline (1.000) — all other flour hydration behaviors are measured relative to bread flour. King Arthur's classic unbleached bread flour and Central Milling's Artisan Bakers Craft are the reference specs for US bakers. Use it as 100% of the flour in baguettes and country loaves, or as the base (70-90%) in whole-grain blends. Bread flour tolerates extended autolyse, long bulk ferments, and retarded proofs without losing structure.
How do you bake with Bread Flour?
Autolyse 30-60 minutes with water at target dough temperature before adding levain and salt. For 75-80% hydration, add 3-4 sets of stretch-and-folds over the first 2 hours of bulk. Higher hydration (82%+) benefits from coil folds instead of stretch-and-folds. Shape cold (after overnight retard) for easier handling and better ear.
What hydration % for Bread Flour?
Baker's-percentage workable range: 65% — 78%. Absorption is 1.000× bread-flour baseline, so recipes written for bread flour need no adjustment when substituting Bread Flour.
Used in pizza dough styles
Bread Flour is the canonical flour for the following pizza styles (per their authoritative source citations):
- New York Style — 62% hydration · 3% oil · 550°F
- Detroit Style — 70% hydration · 4% oil · 500°F
- Sicilian (Sfincione) — 72% hydration · 5% oil · 475°F
Related references on this site
- Bread Flour at 72% hydration — formula — calculator pre-set with this flour and hydration combination
- Bread Flour hydration range deep-dive — 65-78% workable range with technique notes
- All-Purpose Flour — hydration & absorption — same refined wheat family — compare protein and water behaviour
- Italian Type 00 Flour — hydration & absorption — same refined wheat family — compare protein and water behaviour
- Organic Bread Flour — hydration & absorption — same refined wheat family — compare protein and water behaviour
- Signature bake: baguette — classic lean dough on bread flour — full hydration formula
- Signature bake: country loaf — the everyday bread-flour sourdough, worked in baker's percentages
- Full comparison: Bread Flour vs All-Purpose Flour — side-by-side protein, absorption, and hydration-range differences
- Full comparison: Bread Flour vs Whole Wheat Flour — side-by-side protein, absorption, and hydration-range differences
- Full comparison: Bread Flour vs Italian Type 00 Flour — side-by-side protein, absorption, and hydration-range differences
- Full comparison: Bread Flour vs Organic Bread Flour — side-by-side protein, absorption, and hydration-range differences
- Guide: baker's percentage explained — how protein, absorption, and hydration combine in the math
- Guide: whole-grain hydration adjustments — absorption multipliers for whole-wheat, rye, spelt, einkorn
- All flour types — grouped by category (refined, whole-wheat, rye, ancient-grain)
- Reverse calculator: water → hydration % — you have a flour-and-water weight, want the hydration
- Water temperature calculator — your flour temperature is an input — land the dough at the target
- Hydration chart by bread type — typical hydration % for every loaf, at a glance
The gear that makes the math work
A short, honest baking kit. The scale matters most — every weight on this page is in grams. The Dutch oven is what turns a good crumb into a great crust.
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Bread Flour at every hydration level
Bread Flour usually works between 65% and 78% hydration — drier gives a stiffer dough, wetter a slacker one. Tap a level for the technique, the absorption math and a calculator set to it.
| Hydration | Water per 500 g | For Bread Flour |
|---|---|---|
| 55% | 275 g | Drier than usual |
| 60% | 300 g | Drier than usual |
| 65% | 325 g | In its range |
| 70% | 350 g | In its range |
| 72% | 360 g | In its range |
| 75% | 375 g | In its range |
| 78% | 390 g | In its range |
| 80% | 400 g | Wetter than usual |
| 82% | 410 g | Wetter than usual |
| 85% | 425 g | Wetter than usual |
| 90% | 450 g | Wetter than usual |
| 95% | 475 g | Wetter than usual |