75% hydration sourdough
At 75% hydration the dough is slack and tacky but rewards good technique with the classic open, glossy artisan crumb — the sweet spot for country loaves.
Pre-set to 75% — change the flour or starter and the water re-solves. Unlock hydration to explore other targets.
Show the math
- Locked at 75% and starter-aware — the water shown already subtracts the water in your starter.
- Adjust flour, starter or salt for your batch; copy or print the result.
What is 75% hydration sourdough like?
How a 75% dough handles
At 75% the dough is noticeably slack and tacky. It will spread if you leave it, and it needs real gluten development before it holds tension — but handled well it turns silky and extensible, stretching thin without tearing. This is the hydration where technique starts to matter, and where getting it right feels genuinely satisfying.
Flour and crumb
Use a strong bread flour, ideally 12.5% protein or higher; weaker flour simply cannot hold this much water open. The reward is the crumb everyone is chasing: open and irregular, with a glossy, translucent, custardy interior and a thin crackly crust. This is the pain-au-levain, country-boule sweet spot.
Technique notes
Swap kneading for coil folds — they build strength without deflating a wet dough. Shape with a firm hand to build surface tension, give a proper bench rest, and consider a cold overnight retard in the fridge: it firms the dough for easier scoring and deepens the flavour. A hot Dutch oven with trapped steam does the rest.
75% hydration sourdough recipe
One loaf of about 974 g of dough, with a 100% hydration starter counted in. For a different size, change the flour or starter in the solver above and the water re-solves; it can also show ounces or cups.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g |
| Water | 363 g |
| Ripe starter (100%) | 100 g |
| Salt | 11 g |
| Total dough | 974 g |
Why only 363 g of water? The starter brings 50 g of flour and 50 g of water with it, so the dough holds 413 g of water to 550 g of flour, which is 75% hydration.
Method
- Mix. Combine the flour and water, then add the ripe starter and salt. Aim for a dough at 24–26 °C; the dough temperature calculator gives you the water temperature.
- Build strength. Use coil folds instead of kneading; they build strength without deflating a wet dough.
- Bulk ferment. About 5 hours for a 24 °C dough, until it has risen 30–50% and looks domed and bubbly. Make sure the gluten is well developed before you judge the end of bulk. An under-developed 75% dough stays sticky.
- Shape. Shape with a firm hand to build surface tension, after a proper bench rest.
- Proof. An overnight cold retard is worth it. It firms the dough for easier scoring and deepens the flavour.
- Bake. In a preheated Dutch oven, usually at 230–250 °C, covered and then uncovered to colour. The trapped steam is what lets a wet 75% dough spring open.
Want clock times for each step? The bake-day timeline works backwards from when you want to bake.
75% hydration sourdough FAQ
What is a good hydration for an open crumb?
72–78% is the classic window, and 75% sits right in the middle. Paired with strong flour and good gluten development, it gives the open, glossy crumb most artisan bakers are after.
Why is my 75% dough so sticky?
Some tackiness is normal at 75%. Persistent stickiness usually means under-developed gluten or under-mixing — give it another coil fold, use wet hands instead of flour, and make sure your flour is strong enough.
Do I need a Dutch oven at 75% hydration?
It helps a lot. A pre-heated Dutch oven traps the steam a wet dough releases, which delays the crust and lets the loaf spring open. You can bake on a stone with a steam tray, but the Dutch oven is the easy path.
75% vs 80% hydration sourdough: what changes?
A 75% dough is slack and tacky but holds tension once the gluten is developed. At 80% it is genuinely wet and sticky, needs wet hands, a high-protein flour and a cold retard, and bakes to an even more open, custardy crumb. In grams, for a loaf with 500 g flour and 100 g starter, 80% takes 28 g more water.