Hydration, in bread baking terms, means how much water or liquid there is in a given amount of flour, or the ratio of water to flour by weight. More water means a higher hydration or wetter dough. Less water means a lower hydration or drier, stiffer dough. Hydration is figured out by the weight of the water as a percentage of the weight of the flour. Both ingredients are weighed and then the total amount of water by weight is divided by the total amount of flour by weight.

There will be times that you will need to just adjust the hydration because the dough is just too wet or dry. Instead of guessing how much to reduce or increase the liquids follow this simple formula below. First find out what is the hydration of the recipe and go from there.

Example
Pizza Recipe with no sourdough starter
260g water
303g hard white
3g yeast (heaping tsp.)
3g salt (heaping tsp.)

This recipe is at 86% 
260g water        = .858 x 100 = 86%
303g hard white 

How much extra water do you need for 90% hydration
x (water)             =.9 
303g hard white

x= .9 (303)
x= 273g water

So you will need to increase the water in this recipe to 273g to have the recipe at 90% hydration.

To check 273g water     = .90 x 100 = 90%
                303 hard white
​
Tips:
The lower hydration doughs are firmer and drier in the 50 – 64 % range of hydration.  The medium hydration doughs are stickier and wetter at around 65% to 76% hydration (loaf Breads). High hydration doughs are more like a thick batter and are extremely wet and sticky at 77% and up (Pizza dough). 

The hydration of the dough is a simple way of saying the ratio of water to flour. Most loaf breads are around 65-75 percent while most pizza doughs are 80-85 plus percent. 
Step 1:
You must know the hydration of your recipe along with the hydration of your starter. Most folks use a very wet starter with a hydration oat 100%. This means equal amount of water and flour by weight. You will need a scale to do this. Mine starter is at 75% so it is more dough like.

How to figure the hydration of your recipe
Basic Pizza Recipe
260g water
303g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (heaping) yeast 3g
1/4 tsp. salt

260g water = .858 x 100 = 86%
303g flour  

Now this recipe is simple, it doesn't have honey, butter, and other items that may effect this number. Most of the time this flour to water ratio is good enough since the other ingredients are usually small amounts. If you have other ingredients in the recipe in larger amounts go on line and find what the hydration is of that ingredient so you can add this number to the water number when calculating. 

Step 2:
How much starter are you going to use in the recipe?
This is a personal decision you can use a portion of the recipe or 100%. There is an issue that you need to consider. First is your starter active and strong? If not it's best to add a bit of yeast and possibly gluten depending on your starter. To be honest usually my starter needs feeding when making pizza so I use a portion of it in the recipe and add a bit of yeast to help. Using a portion of the recipe with the starter allows the gluten in the new flour to counter act the possibly weak gluten in the starter.  So my decision for this recipe is 140g starter.

Lets take this same recipe and use your sourdough starter as part of the recipe. 
Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g Starter (at 100% hydration)
190g water
233g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (or omit)
1/4 tsp. salt

So if you want to use 140g of starter at 100% hydration how do you know how much flour and water is in the starter. At 100% there is equal weight of water and flour in the 140g of starter so 70g of water and 70g of flour.
From the basic recipe you reduce the water from 260g -70g = 190g. Then you reduce the flour from the basic recipe 303g - 70g =233g. Now you have the correct amount of flour and water using your starter.

My starter is at 75% hydration  x = the amt. of flour in the 140g of starter
140g = x + .75x
140g =1.75x
x = 140  = 80g flour
      1.75
So if there is 80g of flour in the 140g of starter there is 60g of water.
Using my starter the recipe would be

Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g starter (at 75% hydration)
200g water
223g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp. yeast (or omit) 
1/4 tsp. salt

Hydration, in bread baking terms, means how much water or liquid there is in a given amount of flour. Hydration is figured out by the weight of the water as a percentage of the weight of the flour. Both ingredients are weighed and then the total amount of water by weight is divided by the total amount of flour by weight.

Most loaf breads are around 65-75 percent while most pizza doughs are 80-100% percent. Math is not my best subject so I keep this formula handy so I can look at it and just plug in the numbers when adjusting the hydration of doughs. Knowing how to do this will help you when you have issues with your bread baking or changing your recipe to a sourdough recipe.

How to figure the hydration of your dough
Basic Pizza Recipe
260g water
303g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (heaping) yeast 3g
1/4 tsp.  (heaping) salt  3g

260g water = .858 x 100 = 86%
303g flour

Now this recipe is simple, it doesn't have milk, honey, butter, and other items that may effect this number. Most of the time this ratio is good enough since the other ingredients are usually small amounts. If the recipe has large amounts of other ingredients you will need to look up on the internet what the hydration is and adjust accordingly. A good example is milk, it is about 87% water and the rest is milk solids. So is your recipe has 260g of milk instead of water the actual hydration of the milk is 226g  (260g x.87) = 226g You will be using the 226g when figuring the hydration of the dough.

Flour milled from North American hard wheat may have a protein content of 11-14%. It will absorb much more water than, say, a French flour with a protein content in the 8-10% range. You will even see variations from one bag of wheat to another when baking. You may have to adjust the hydration of your dough. 

If you are working with a flour that has a  weaker gluten like Spelt. You may  want to reduce the hydration in the dough to get the desired results depending on what you are making for example like pizza.

Convert your recipes to use the Tangzhong technique. It will give you wonderful results that you can do with any breads. An added benefit is it will stay fresh much longer. Tangzhong is a technique where you cook some of the flour in a liquid and then add it to the dough. It's perfect for direct doughs because you can use it as soon as it cools down a bit. As the starch granules are heated, water is attracted to the molecules. This causes the granules to swell and soften, absorbing and trapping water. The flour absorbs twice as much hot liquid as cold liquid, which is why the heating process is essential. 

Tangzhone: The ratio is 5:1 (5 parts water to 1 part flour) - usually

• Involves cooking the flour and liquid together on a stovetop or microwave to form a paste.
• Cool to under 115 degrees and add to the rest of the liquid ingredients.
• Good option to use for a direct dough.
• The higher percentage of the flour that is pre-gelatinized the softer rolls.

Original Recipe
Yields: 24 Buns - 47g ea.
Bake: 350

Recipe Adjusted to 75% Hydration & Tangzhong
Tangzhong 5% of recipe
32g flour (3 1/2T)
160g water (2/3 c)
Cook on stove on low heat until you see your stirring marks as it thickens. It only takes a few minutes. Cool to below 115 degrees so it does not kill the yeast. Add to the other liquid ingredients and stir.

Dry Ingredients
610g Hard White ( 4 2/3 c)
3/4 tsp. dried malt powder (you can omit if you like)
8g Salt (3/4 tsp.)
10g Yeast (3 1/2 tsp.)

Liquid
45g Cane Syrup (honey) (2 T. +1 tsp.)
314g Water (1 1/3 c)

20g Butter (1 1/2 T.)
10g Soy Flour (1 1/2 T.) omit if you like

Directions

• Add the tangzhong mixture to the liquid ingredients and mix.
• Add the dry ingredients to the mixer then the liquid ingredients. Mix until just moistened and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Now develop the gluten with the mixer (mix 3 minutes with dough hook) Remove from the mixer and place the dough on the counter and flatten it out.
• Soften the butter and add the soy flour to form a paste. Spread the paste onto the dough and cut the dough into pieces and add back to the mixer bowl.
• Knead until the butter mixture is incorporated into the dough. The dough will now be softer. If should only take about 2 minutes.
• Bulk proof for 20-30 minutes
• Shape into 24 round balls about 45g - 47g each.
• Add Shine: 1 large egg yolk + 2T. water mix in a small bowl and brush the buns before proofing them.
• Proof for an addition 20 minutes until about the size you want them.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Put into the oven and bake at 350 for 15 minutes

This recipe is from Peter Reinhart's book and is simple to make. It makes one large loaf and is best to use finely ground whole grain flour. His method is a bit different than most when baking but it's the method that I have had the most success with in obtaining light high loaves.

Soaker
184g hard red or hard white flour (1 1/3c + 1T.)
28g  oat bran (4T.)
14g flax seeds (1 1/2 T.)
4g salt (1/2 tsp.)
198g water (3/4 c. + 2T.)

• Mix all the soaker ingredients together in a bowl until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball of dough.
  
• Cover and place in the fridge, this is good for 3 days.

Biga
227g hard red or hard white flour (1 3/4c.)
1g instant yeast (1/4 tsp.)
170g water (3/45 c.)

• Mix all of the biga ingredients together in a bowl and form a ball of dough. It will be tacky, let it rest a few minutes and knead a few times until smoother. Cover and place into the fridge. This is good for up to 3 days

Final Dough
The next day or the day of baking take the biga and soaker out of the fridge. I use them cold but you can let come to room temperature. You will be adding the final ingredients to them.
In a small container mix together:
56g hard red or hard white flour (7 T.)
5g salt (5/8 tsp.)
7g instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
42g honey, or agave nectar or brown sugar (2 1/2 T)

14g vegetable oil (1 T.)

• Lay the biga on the counter and flatten into a disk, then lay the soaker on top and flatten into a disk.
• Cut thru the disk,  into about 12 pieces and put into your mixing bowl. As you are cutting the dough add the final ingredient to the cut up pieces.
• Finally add the vegetable oil to the mixing bowl.
  
• Put the dough hook on and mix for 3 minutes at low speed. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. If it seems too sticky let the dough rest 5 minutes and come back to see how it feels. If it needs more flour or water adjust as needed. Test to see if you have a windowpane.
  
• Bulk proof for 45-60 minutes until it is about 1 1/2 times it original size.
  
• Shape as a freestanding batard or place into a greased loaf pan. I use a 9 inch pullman pan.
  
• Cover so the top stays moist and let it raise another 45-60 minutes.
  
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, I use a steam pan in the bottom of the oven while preheating.
  
• Place the loaf into the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes then rotate the pan if needed and continue baking another 20 minutes.
  
• To test for done, the loaf will reach an internal temperature of 195 degrees. It will be rich brown and have a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
  

Yeast is a hot commodity lately, it's no where to be found in the supermarkets. There is a way to make your own yeast using fresh or dried fruit and even potatoes will work. This does take a few days to get the yeast going. Watch The Video

Creating yeast water couldn’t be easier, simply combine fruit and water, and you’ll be ready to bake naturally leavened bread in about week. Yeast is all around us, all we have to do to harness it's power. When you create yeast water you are harvesting the yeast that naturally occurs in fruit and vegetable skins or pulp. Avoid using mango, pineapple, kiwi and papaya. these fruits contain a protease enzyme. This enzyme destroys protein and inhibits gluten development.

Supplies Needed:

• 34oz jar glass is best but plastic will work
  
• Funnel

Recipe: From PJ Hamel at King Arthur Flour

• 500g (2 1/4 cups) of water (tap water is fine)
• 50g (1/4 cup) of granulated sugar
• 2 dried dates (pitted or whole)
  

Note: You can use other fruits like organic raisins about 1-2 T. Also different types of sugar would work, even molasses or honey.

Directions:

• Add the fruit, water and sugar to the jar and screw the cap on the jar. Shake vigorously to dissolve the sugar. Loosen the cap a half-turn and put the bottle somewhere warm 78.8°F is optimal. I put the bottle on my freezer or the top of the hot water tank would work in my house.
  
• Shake the bottle twice a day for 4 days. Unscrew the cap daily to let out any pressure buildup, screw it back on, then shake well.
  
• By the end of 4 days, the water should be frothy on top, and you’ll definitely be able to smell the fruit fermenting.

Day 5: Add the following to the bottle:

• 1 dried date
• 5g (1 teaspoon) salt
• 20g (1 1/2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 400g (1 3/4 cups) water

Shake the bottle vigorously to dissolve the sugar. Put it back in its warm spot, and shake twice a day, uncapping and recapping each time, for 4 more days.

Baking

• Each bottle of yeast water will yield about six average-sized loaves of bread, minus the 200g you need to save for future loaves.
• Use the yeast water instead of the water or liquid in the bread.
• It may take longer for your loaf to raise, that will depend on the amount of the yeast water used and the strength of the yeast in the water.

Save 200g yeast water plus add the following for future use

• 700g tap water
• 35g sugar
• 3.5g salt
• 2 dried dates
• Shake twice a day for 2 to 3 days, until the yeast water is foaming nicely. Strain out the dates, and store water in the refrigerator.
• Yeast water makes a bread with mild, rather than an assertive sourdough tang. This can be a pro or con, depending on your personal taste.
  

Pros

• There’s very little upkeep; once yeast water is made it can live in the refrigerator for up to a couple of months without being fed.
• Yeast water isn’t fed with flour and there’s no discard; so you’re not throwing away flour, as you might with a standard starter.

Cons

• Since there’s no discard with yeast water, you don’t have the chance to make a lot of yummy recipes that call for sourdough starter discard.
• Making a starter with yeast water takes longer: up to around 16 hours, as opposed to around 6 to 8 hours for a standard sourdough starter.

This is a recipe from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. All of her recipes are made with 100% whole grain flours. This bread is a good all-around loaf for sandwiches and just perfect for a Reuben sandwich. Below is the exact recipe from Laurel's Kitchen, but I have had better luck with this recipe using a couple of different mixing techniques. Read both methods and decide what will work best for you, they are the same ingredients just put together differently.

Yields: 2 loaves
Bake: 50 minutes
Oven: 350 degrees

Ingredients:
2 tsp. active dry yeast (7g)
1 c. warm water (235g)

3 c. rye flour (385g)
4 c. hard red wheat flour (600g)
2 T. carob powder (18g)
2 1/2 tsp. salt (14g)
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

1 c. tepid water (235g)
1 1/2 T. honey (30g)
2 T. cider vinegar (30g)
2 T. vegetable oil (30g)

1 c. more water if needed to knead (235g)*

Same Recipe but different mixing techniques:
The reason I have adopted a few different techniques is wheat and rye do not absorb liquid at the same rate. Rye has more fiber and is slower to absorb liquid. Also, they both have gluten but wheat gluten is stronger and is what will lift this bread. I develop the wheat gluten first before adding the rye flour to the mix. Rye also breaks down when over kneaded, which is very easy to do. To overcome all these issues, I take the liquid in the recipe and add some to the wheat flour and develop the gluten until I get a window pane. Then add the rest of the liquid to the rye flour mix and add this to the developed wheat dough. I mix them until just combined, that way the rye is not over mixed.

Recipe:
3 c. rye flour (385g)
2 T. carob powder (18g)
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
2 T. cider vinegar (30g)
275g water

4 c. hard red wheat flour (600g)
2 tsp. instant yeast (7g)
2 1/2 tsp. salt (14g)
2 T. vegetable oil (30g)
2 T. honey (30g)
425g water

Directions:

1. The Rye flour, carob, caraway seeds, vinegar, and water add to the mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until is mixed. Take out of the mixer and put on the counter
2. Add the wheat flour, yeast, salt, oil, honey and water to the mixer and mix with the paddle until mixed. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Put the dough hook on and knead the wheat flour for 5-10 minutes until the gluten is developed. The dough will be elastic, remove from the bowl and place dough on the counter
4. Make a disk out of the wheat dough and the rye dough. Lay one on top of the other and cut into hunks and return to the mixer.
5. Knead until completely mixed, do not over knead. The dough will be sticky, if you need too, remove and finish the kneading by hand.
   
6. Continue with the directions from step 7 bulk proof.

I think one of the hardest things to achieve is a good place to proof your dough. Everyone's home is different in temperature and humidity so what might work for some is not the best option for others. There are so many options to proofing your dough, some folks even proof overnight in the fridge.

I ferment the dough in the fridge overnight but then I get it out and put the bread together in the morning. After kneading the dough I bulk proof it in my proofing box. I have tried many different proofing boxes and this one is simple to make, very inexpensive, easy to clean, and stores away until needed. In my kitchen space limitations are an issue, I keep the proofing box on a rolling cart that must fit under a shelf. So the height of the plastic tub in my circumstances was an issue. I used two plastic tubes about 6 inches in height. There was nothing available in the correct height and width that would work for my situation. 

Supplies Needed

• 2 plastic tubs minimum of  6 inches in heights the length and width is up to you - clear plastic is best so you can see into it.
• Fish Aquarium heater - they are under $20.00 (check temperature range on the model)
• Clips to hold the tubs together
• Some sort of rack to fit inside that water will not damage and hold your bowl or pans above the warm water.

I have my proofing box on a rolling cart, which makes it easier to move around. Once filled with water it can be a bit on the heavy side. When not in use my proofing box is rolled under a shelf out of the way.

According to the directions you must fill the water about 1 inch in depth above the  fish aquarium heater. The heater will hold the water at a constant temperature of 90 degrees just about perfect for bread.

The rack is just something I found at the thrift shop and chopped it in half to fit inside the tub. Once loaded with the loaves, I put the other tub on top and clip them together. Since they are clear you can see how the bread is coming along.

Cleaning is a breeze, just drain the water and wipe down the tubs and store away. I hope this information will help you to come up with a workable solution to getting your bread to raise to new heights.