Dough Hydration and Coffee Brew Ratios
Hydration and brew ratio are both parts-to-parts math. Dough hydration is water relative to flour; coffee brew ratio is water relative to coffee dose. This guide connects those ratios to the kitchen worksheets—and keeps nutrition claims out of scope.
Baker’s hydration
Hydration % ≈ (water weight ÷ flour weight) × 100. Higher hydration usually means stickier dough and a more open crumb, but flour type, preferments, and technique matter as much as the percentage.
Coffee brew ratio
A common starting range is about 1:15–1:17 coffee:water by weight for drip-style brewing. Espresso uses a much tighter ratio. Enter the ratio your recipe or cafe standard uses; taste and grind still dominate.
Practical loop
Weigh when you can
Grams beat volume for hydration and brew ratio.
Set the ratio
Use the dough hydration or coffee ratio calculator.
Scale the recipe
If servings change, open the recipe scaling worksheet and keep hydration constant.
Convert cups only when needed
Ingredient cup-to-gram pages differ by density—flour is not sugar.