Food Baker's percentages

I was wondering if anyone else uses baker's percentages in formulating recipes for yeast doughs. Personally, figuring out how to use baker's percentages changed the way I bake. While there is certainly still an element of "doing it by feel," now I have the math to back up why what I feel works Obviously, a scale is an important part of using baker's percentages.

The wiki: Baker percentage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are some guides to start you off, if you're unfamiliar with using baker's percentages:

The Beginning Steps for Amateur Bakers - All Things Wheat | and stuff

Baker's Math | The Fresh Loaf

People are always so amazed when my husband tells them that what they're eating is a recipe I came up with myself. What they don't know is that the math is easy! Shhh.

And for pizza, here's a calculator that does all the work for you: Lehmann Pizza Dough Calculator

 

Well, thank you! I'm just glad there are other food nerds like you out there that appreciate it

 

That's what kept me from trying it for a long time, but once I learned how, it's easy, and a calculator certainly helps.

Take my pizza dough last night:
100% flour (800g)
60% water
2% yeast
1% sugar
1% salt
2% oil

So then you just take that initial flour weight and multiply it by .6, .02, and .01 to get the weights of the remainder of the ingredients.

Using baker's percentages also makes it easier to experiment with hydration levels. I'm not quite at the stage where I am using them to come up with recipes that use preferments.

 

I've been comfortably using baker's percentages in my breadmaking for a while now. Of late, I have been in pursuit of the perfect milk bread. This is my basic recipe.

800g bread flour
16g salt
8g butter, melted
240g water
240g milk
8g active dry yeast
16g honey

Measure out the flour and salt; combine in the bowl of the stand mixer. Measure out the melted butter and add to the flour and salt. Measure out the water and milk; both combined should be 480g and should be between 105-115 degrees F (40-46C). Add the active dry yeast and honey; stir and let sit until foamy, 3-5 minutes. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients in the stand mixer, and using the beater, combine until a shaggy dough forms. All of the dry flour on the bottom of the bowl should be incorporated into the dough. Take off the beater and cover the bowl with a towel; let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then, with the dough hook, knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is very smooth and passes the windowpane test. Let rise in a well-oiled container until doubled in size. Stretch and fold, then shape into loaves and let rise in loaf pans until doubled in size. Bake in a 425 oven for 10 minutes, lowering the heat to 350, until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F (93C).

 

I've never used baker's percentages, but I used to work for a pizzeria and would make large batches of pizza dough from a set recipe. I was always lauded for my dough's volume and consistency. For me, it was just a matter of being exact.

Also, I don't have a scale, so I hate liquid being measured in mass instead of volume.

 

Tough. I like to be precise.

I think it's roughly about 2 cups of liquid, though.

 

This is what I made today. @Baraka_Guru would appreciate that my scale died halfway through and then I had to measure everything but the liquids in volume (after making some conversions and guesstimating). I despaired that something would go wrong. Nothing went wrong. It turned out just fine. Sometimes we have to fly by the seat of our pants, even in baking. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to know what your dough should feel like, though, and what it should look like. I thought it was a little on the dry side at first, so I let my autolyse go a little long. After that, everything proceeded as expected.

This is definitely one of my favorite breads, though. It makes FABULOUS rolls. The last time I made these for a family function, everyone asked where the recipe came from. Oh, I wrote it myself. Simple math, really.

If you like using math in cooking, I recommend: Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking: Michael Ruhlman: 9781416571728: Amazon.com: Books The Ratio Chart | Michael Ruhlman