This free baguette dough calculator works out flour, water, yeast and salt for French baguettes by count, weight and length. Enter how many baguettes you want, how heavy each one should be and how long, and the tool scales the lean French formula to your batch.
A baguette is a lean dough with only four ingredients, so there is nowhere to hide a measuring error. The classic balance is 66 percent water, 2 percent salt and just 0.5 percent yeast, fermented slowly for flavour, then shaped long and thin so the crust to crumb ratio stays high and the crust shatters when you bite it.
To use the tool, enter your numbers in the fields above and press the calculate button. The results table updates at once, and you can change any number and calculate again as often as you like. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is sent to a server, and you need no account and no sign-up.
The formula starts from total dough, which is baguette count times weight per baguette. Flour is total dough divided by 1.685, the sum of flour plus water at 66 percent, salt at 2 percent and yeast at 0.5 percent. Length does not change the ingredients, but it sets the shaping: the same 250 grams rolled to 65 centimetres gives the classic slim profile.
Example: for 4 baguettes at 250 grams and 65 centimetres each, the tool gives 1000 grams of dough, 593.5 grams of flour, 391.7 grams of water, 3 grams of yeast and 11.9 grams of salt. Divide into 4 equal pieces, pre-shape into short logs, rest 20 minutes, then roll gently from the centre outwards.
Tip: roll with even pressure and flat hands. Pressing harder in the middle makes a fat centre and thin ends that over-bake, while steady, even rolls give a uniform thickness that bakes evenly from end to end.
Tip: score at a shallow angle with overlapping cuts. A sharp blade held almost flat, cutting 5 to 7 overlapping slashes, lets each flap lift into an ear, while deep or straight cuts flatten the loaf instead.
Tip: bake with steam for the first ten minutes. Steam keeps the crust soft while the loaf expands, then a dry finish crisps it, so a tray of water or a spray bottle at the start makes a real difference.
Common question: What flour is best for baguettes? French type 55 flour is traditional, but a strong white bread flour works well at home. Avoid wholemeal flour for classic baguettes, because the bran cuts gluten and dulls the crisp crust.
Common question: Why are my baguettes thick in the middle? Uneven rolling pressure is the usual cause. Rest the dough if it springs back, then roll again from the centre out with flat hands, checking the thickness as you go.
Common question: How long should baguettes ferment? A slow ferment of 3 to 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge, gives far more flavour than a fast one-hour rise, and the low yeast amount in this tool is set for exactly that slow pace.
Timing and storage matter as much as the numbers. Make the dough when you have time for a slow rise and a proper bake, not rushed between other jobs, because bread rewards patience far more than speed. Store finished bread in a way that protects the crust you worked for, and reheat gently rather than microwaving it soft.
A note on accuracy: weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale, because cup measures vary by how flour is scooped and packed, and a 10 percent flour error changes hydration enough to notice. Check your scale with a known weight now and then, and keep the same units through the whole recipe so nothing gets converted twice by mistake.
This tool is free to use as often as you like. Bookmark it, run it for every batch, and let it carry the measuring while you focus on shaping, baking and enjoying the bread itself.