Hydration × flour
90% Hydration White Whole Wheat Flour
Near-liquid dough territory. Extremely open, almost hollow crumb. Produces 'glass bread' effect.
⚠ Outside White Whole Wheat Flour's typical range (72–82%) — read below for handling
Is 90% hydration right for White Whole Wheat Flour?
White Whole Wheat Flour's workable hydration range is 72–82%. Its absorption multiplier is 1.06× bread flour. 90% is above White Whole Wheat Flour's typical range. The dough will be slack and may not hold shape in a free-form hearth loaf. Either reduce hydration to 82%, or blend White Whole Wheat Flour (40–60%) with bread flour for structural support.
Absorption math for White Whole Wheat Flour at 90%
A recipe written for bread flour at 90% hydration, when substituted with 100% White Whole Wheat Flour, becomes 95% effective hydration (because White Whole Wheat Flour absorbs 6% more water). Same autolyse approach as red whole wheat (60-90 min) but slightly shorter. Pairs well with bread flour at 25-30% whole grain for balanced loaves. Increase hydration by 1.5% when substituting for refined bread flour.
Technique at 90% hydration
Dough handling requires constant wet hands, bench scrapers, and oiled surfaces. Include 5% olive oil for lubrication. Pan-baked only. Expert-level technique.
Calculator pre-set to 90%
Weights below assume 100% White Whole Wheat Flour. For blends, use the main calculator on a recipe page.
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 400 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 960 g
- Effective hydration
- 90%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.