2.0% is the modern bakery default for lean hearth sourdough. Hamelman, Tartine, and most contemporary references use this. It produces balanced flavor without tasting salty, and controls fermentation speed by slightly inhibiting yeast activity.
Typical use: Use for country loaf, pain au levain, baguette, ciabatta, focaccia (Genovese), most lean doughs.
Salt weight table
Flour (g)
Salt at 2% (g)
250
5.0
500
10.0
750
15.0
1000
20.0
1500
30.0
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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Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)
Baker's percentage is by weight, not volume — a 0.1 g scale is what makes the math on this page accurate.
The numbers here are the what; a good baking book is the why. An Audible trial gets you any title free — Michael Pollan’s Cooked(the “Air” chapter is the best story ever told about why bread rises) is a perfect first listen.
Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)View on Amazon →