Hydration × flour
95% Hydration All-Purpose Flour
Glass-like hollow crumb. The extreme of sourdough hydration. Traditional Pan de Cristal target.
⚠ Outside All-Purpose Flour's typical range (60–72%) — read below for handling
Is 95% hydration right for All-Purpose Flour?
All-Purpose Flour's workable hydration range is 60–72%. Its absorption multiplier is 0.97× bread flour. 95% is above All-Purpose Flour's typical range. The dough will be slack and may not hold shape in a free-form hearth loaf. Either reduce hydration to 72%, or blend All-Purpose Flour (40–60%) with bread flour for structural support.
Absorption math for All-Purpose Flour at 95%
A recipe written for bread flour at 95% hydration, when substituted with 100% All-Purpose Flour, becomes 92% effective hydration (because All-Purpose Flour absorbs 3% less water). Shorter autolyse (20-30 min) — longer autolyses over-soften the gluten. Fewer stretch-and-folds (2-3 sets) to avoid tearing the weaker gluten structure. Best for beginner hydration range 65-70%.
Technique at 95% hydration
Only expert bakers attempt this reliably. Requires olive oil (5%) in dough, stand mixer to develop structure, oiled work surfaces, bench scrapers throughout. Cannot be free-form shaped.
Calculator pre-set to 95%
Weights below assume 100% All-Purpose Flour. For blends, use the main calculator on a recipe page.
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 425 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 985 g
- Effective hydration
- 95%
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.