Measured dough, explained
The Filmenoi Dough Handbook is a measured reference on bread dough. Dough behaves the way it does because flour protein — 9 to 14 percent in common wheat flours — water weight and temperature are all measurable quantities, and the craft has names and dates: baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Chorleywood Bread Process of 1961, and Raymond Calvel's autolyse. Every number on this page is a share of the flour weight or a reading you can take with a thermometer.
| Hydration | Water |
|---|---|
| 55% | 550 g |
| 65% | 650 g |
| 70% | 700 g |
| 75% | 750 g |
| 80% | 800 g |
| 85% | 850 g |
Because three inputs — protein, water and temperature — set the outcome before you touch the dough.
Plain wheat flour is about 70-75 percent starch and 9-14 percent protein. When water meets that protein, gluten forms: a network that traps gas and gives the loaf its crumb. A flour at the low end of the protein range builds a weaker network than one at the high end, and no amount of kneading changes the starting material.
Baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the same species used for beer and wine. It converts sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol, and its speed depends on temperature. That is why one dough at 24 degrees and the same dough at 20 degrees need different schedules.
Salt at about 2 percent of flour weight tightens the gluten network and slows fermentation. Leave it out and the dough spreads and over-proofs; weigh it accurately and the dough holds its shape through bulk.
Two dated developments frame how bakers think about fermentation time.
A hydration percentage is water weight divided by flour weight, expressed as a share of the flour.
Baker's percentages express every ingredient as a share of the flour weight. Seventy percent hydration means 700 grams of water for every 1000 grams of flour; 80 percent means 800 grams. The flour is always the 100 percent baseline, so the same formula scales to any batch size without recalculation.
At 55 percent the dough is stiff and easy to shape; at 85 percent it is slack, sticky and needs gentle handling. The protein content of the flour sets how much of that water the gluten network can hold, which is why a 75 percent dough made with 9 percent protein flour behaves differently from the same percentage made with 13 percent protein flour.
Weigh water rather than measuring it by volume. A millilitre of water is a gram, but flour density varies with how it is scooped, and only the scale keeps the percentage honest.
Bulk fermentation at 24-26 degrees Celsius takes about 3-4 hours for a yeasted dough; colder dough ferments more slowly.
Bulk fermentation is the first rise, after mixing and before shaping. At 24-26 degrees Celsius a standard yeasted dough finishes bulk in roughly 3-4 hours. Drop the dough to 20 degrees and the same dough needs noticeably longer; raise it to 28 degrees and it can race ahead of you.
The Chorleywood Bread Process, developed in 1961 at the British Baking Industries Research Association in Chorleywood, showed the other end of the scale: high-speed mixing cut fermentation to minutes. It is the industrial counterpoint to a long, cool bulk, and both approaches rely on the same yeast species.
Raymond Calvel's autolyse — a rest of flour and water before salt and yeast are added — lets the flour hydrate and the gluten begin to develop on its own. Calvel also promoted the open crumb of the baguette in the twentieth century; the technique reduces mixing time and keeps the dough from oxidising.
| Hydration | Water | Salt at 2% | Dough character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55% | 550 g | 20 g | Stiff, easy to shape |
| 65% | 650 g | 20 g | Firm, smooth surface |
| 70% | 700 g | 20 g | Standard lean dough |
| 75% | 750 g | 20 g | Slack, needs folding |
| 80% | 800 g | 20 g | Sticky, gentle handling |
| 85% | 850 g | 20 g | Very slack, open crumb |
Reference inputs behind each figure, listed without commentary.