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Computing Percentages in a Formula
Published 2004
Here is a straightforward recipe for white bread:
| Flour | 75 lb |
| Water | 49.5 lb |
| Salt | 1.5 lb |
| Yeast | .9 lb |
As mentioned above, when using baker’s percentage, the flour is represented as 100 percent, and each of the other ingredients is expressed as a percentage of the flour’s weight. We can start with the formula as follows:
| Flour | 75 lb | 100% |
| Water | 49.5 lb | ? |
| Salt | 1.5 lb | ? |
| Yeast | .9 lb | ? |
To determine the percentage of the other ingredients, divide the weight of each ingredient by the weight of the flour, and then multiply the result (which is in decimal form) by 100 to convert it to a percent. For example, to calculate the percentage of water, divide the weight of the water by the weight of the flour and multiply by 100: 49.5 ÷ 75 = .66 × 100 = 66 percent. Following the same method, we arrive at the following values for the salt and yeast:
| Flour | 75 lb | 100% | |
| Water | 49.5 lb | 66% | (49÷75= .66 ×100=66%) |
| Salt | 1.5 lb | 2% | (1.5÷75= .02 ×100=2%) |
| Yeast | .9 lb | 1.2% | (.9÷75= .012 ×100= 1.2%) |