Blogs on Youssef El Khoury

Understanding Dough Hydration Rates

Sun, 17 May 2026 12:54:00 +0000

The single most important thing to know: always calculate hydration using weight, never volume. This one mistake can take a recipe from perfect to unusable.

What Is a Hydration Rate?

The hydration rate is the ratio of water to flour in a dough, expressed as a percentage:

$\text{Hydration Rate (\%)} = \frac{\text{Weight of Water}}{\text{Weight of Flour}} \times 100$

So a dough made with 250g of water and 400g of flour has a hydration rate of 62.5%.

This number tells you everything about how a dough will feel and behave — how sticky it is, how easy it is to shape, and what kind of crumb structure it will produce.

Why Volume Measurements Break the Formula

This is where most beginners go wrong. It seems logical to measure hydration by volume — “1 cup of water to 3 cups of flour” — but it produces a completely wrong result.

The problem is density. One cup of water and one cup of flour weigh very different amounts:

Ingredient	1 Cup Volume	Actual Weight
Water	236mL	~250g
White Flour	236mL	~132g
Brown Flour	236mL	~127g

Notice that 1 cup of water weighs almost twice as much as 1 cup of flour. This completely distorts any volume-based hydration calculation.

The Bread Example

Take a recipe: 1 cup water, 3 cups flour.

Volume-based calculation (wrong):

$\frac{1 \text{ cup Water}}{3 \text{ cups Flour}} \times 100 = 33\%$

Weight-based calculation (correct):

$\frac{250\text{g Water}}{3 \times 132\text{g Flour}} \times 100 = 63\%$

The dough was never 33% hydration — it was 63% all along. The volume calculation underestimated it by nearly half.

What Happens When You Get It Wrong

Using the incorrect 33% volume figure, attempting to increase hydration to 60% led to this calculation:

$\frac{x \text{ cups Water}}{3 \text{ cups Flour}} = 60\% \implies x \approx 2 \text{ cups Water}$

The actual weight-based hydration of 2 cups of water over 3 cups of flour:

$\frac{500\text{g Water}}{3 \times 132\text{g Flour}} \times 100 = 126\%$

The result: a dough so wet and sticky it took far too long to knead, tore constantly during shaping, and produced bread that barely puffed in the oven. The recipe hadn’t been improved — it had been destroyed.

The Density Formula (For the Curious)

You can calculate the weight equivalent of any volumetric measurement using:

$\rho = \frac{m}{V} \implies m = \rho \times V$

Ingredient	Density	Weight of 1L
Water	997 kg/m³	~1kg
Flour (avg)	0.593 g/cm³	~593g

Note that flour density varies depending on type, humidity, temperature, and whether it has been sifted. Always treat flour density values as estimates.

Maamoul

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 10:24:00 +0000

Serving Size:

Ideal Recipe

Dough

Category	Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Dry Base	T7in ferkha	1.5kg
	Smid	1.5kg
Fat	Samne ba2ra el haloub	60g
	Zebde	1.5kg
Extras	Ma7lab	5g	1 male32a zghire
	Jozt el tib	2g (0.25 7abbe)	0.5 mal32a zghire
	Miske	1g (1 packet da2 ma3 1 male32it sekar zghire)	1 packet de2oun ma3 male32
	Mazaher	80g - 120g
	Mawared	80g - 120g

Filling (Tamer)

Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Tamer	2kg (Mfa2a)
Zebde	35g	1 mal3a2a zghire
Ma7lab	2g	0.25 male32a zghire
Jozt el tib	2 barchit nakze bi ras l male32a	2 barchit nakze bi ras l male32a
Mazaher	20g	0.25 fenjen ahwe
Mawared	20g	0.25 fenjen ahwe

Filling (Festou2)

Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Festou2 halabe (mathoun 3al khechne)	0.5kg
Sekar		1.25 cups
Mazaher		1.5 male32a kbire
Mawared

Filling (Joz)

Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Joz (mathoun 3al khechne)	0.5kg
Loz (mathoun 3al khechne)	150g

Prep

Liquid Prep

Dawid l samne wl zebde sawa
Khaliyoun yeberdo 3al ekhir
Zid nos kamiyit l mazaher wl mawared w trok l be2e la tene nhar

Dry Prep

Nkhol l t7in wl raweyi7 sawa

3ajen 1

Frekoun w farfetoun khalliyoun yekhdo ba3ed
Ghattiyoun bi war2it naylon lez2a 3a wejjoun bala ma ta2eloun (mafiyoun khamire) la tene nhar l soboh max (12-24 hours)

Tamer

Mlok l tamer la yen3amo
Zid 3layoun khbaroun ma3 l zebde l fetra
Mlekoun zyede la yekhdo ba3ed
Ghatiyou bi war2it naylon w raye7oul la tene nhar
Bl 2idek bl may w mlekoun chway
Ka3zeloun w soffoun 3a saniye (~14g)

3ajen 2

Mn ba3ed ma yerte7o zid be2e l mazaher wl mawared w frekoun khalik 3am bt zid mawared w mazaher la ysirometl l 3ajin w yenna2aro balaa yoforto. W 2eza ba3ed ma akhado sir zid mawared mch mazaher la2ann bya3te ta3me morra. Bass ou3a tzid ktir ahsan ma yerkho ktir
Fik t7ot 92g water 4g sekar 6g khamire
Ballich tek3ik w 7ot nos l khamire bass tbalich tene batch zid l be2e

Khabez

Khbezoun bass la yekhdo nakzit lon 3al wejj w deghre chiloun 200

Kaak

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 22:40:00 +0000

Serving Size: ~250-300pcs

Ideal Recipe

Category	Ingredient	Weight
Dry Base	T7in fa2ech	4kg
	Baking Powder	55g
	Khamire	40g
	Sekar	1.8kg
Liquid Base	7alib	1.5l
Fat	Samne ba2ra l 7aloub	500g
	Zayt nabete	100g
	Zebde	600g
Extras	Joz el tib	2 pcs (10g)
	Barech 7amoud	2 pcs
	Ma7lab	50g

Prep

Liquid Prep

Dawib l samne wl zebde 3a nar khafife
Tafe l nar la yeftaro
Dawib l sekkar bl 7alib ma3 l zayt, bass khalle rakwit 7alib lal khamire (zid l sekar chway chway la2an eza 7attaytoun kelloun bt sir so3be ydoubo, bl akhas eza l 7alibet msa23in, max bass ydoubo l aktariye zidoun 3al zebde wl samne 3a nar khafife)
Zid l samne wl zebde 3al 7alib
Ntoroun la yeftaro kermel l khamire (aw dawib l khamire bi chwayit 7alib la yfouro)

Dry Prep

Nkhol klchi nechif ma3 l raweyi7

3ajen

3rok klchi bass la yekhdo ba3ed (w zid chwayt t7in la ybatlo ylaz2o bl jat)
Salleboun
Ghattiyoun bi war2it naylon lez2a 3a wejjoun w ta2eloun la tene nhar l soboh max (8-12 hours)
Ka33ekoun w soffoun bl sawane

Khabez

Hamme l foron 180-200C
Khbezoun bl dor mn awal saniye ka33akta laykouno rte7o chway
Chiloun bass yenefkho w anja2 ye7marro

Focaccia

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:19:00 +0000

Serving Size:

Ideal Recipe

Category	Ingredient	Weight	Percentage
Dry Base	Flour	500g
	Salt	10g	2%
	Yeast	10g	2%
Liquid Base	Water	375g	75%
Fat	Olive Oil	10g (in dough) + 20g (in pan)	2%

Experiments

Category	Ingredient	Exp A	Helen
Dry Base	Flour	100%	100%
	Salt	2%	2.4%
	Yeast	2%	0.7%
Liquid Base	Water	75%	70%
Fat	Olive Oil	2%	2%

Feedback

Experiment	Feedback
Helen	Since we’re using less yeast which should provide a slower ferment we get better flavor but since yeast is reduced you need to build more the dough strength over many stretch and folds before the bulk ferments which takes too much time not worth it
Exp A’	Ingredients were mixed fully, autolyse for 30 min to make slap and fold in bowl easier for 10 min until smooth dough or stretch and fold every 30 min if dough too wet. Then bulk ferment for 3 hours. Then coil fold in pan and rest for 2 hours. The result is way lighter and bubbly but flavor is a bit chewy
Exp A	Dough was only bulk fermented once and baked which made the bread very dense and chewy (more like cake). This is due to the fact that bubbles and air need to be built over many kneading and rest cycles with the kneading getting more delicate with time (slap and fold in bowl → stretch and fold → coil fold)

Ouwaymat

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 21:15:00 +0000

Serving Size:

Ideal Recipe

Category	Ingredient	Weight
Dry Base	Flour	150g
	Ferkha	13g
	Necha / 7ayalla	10g
	Sekkar	10g
	Khamire	4g
Liquid Base	May	225g
Extras	Ma7lab	4g
	Jozt el tib	2g
	7amoud l laymoun	7 7abbat

Prep

Raye7oun chi se3ten la yenefkho
2liyoun
Nachefoun chway w 7otoun bl ater henne w sokhnin

Ater/Simple Syrup

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 20:57:00 +0000

Ater/Simple Syrup Recipe

Ingredient	Volume (Ater)	Volume (Simple Syrup)
Sekar	2 cups	1 cups
May	1 cup	1 cup
Hamda	nos
Mazaher	chwayit
Mawared	chwayit

Prep

Ghliyoun 3a nar khafife/wasat ma3 1/2 hamda la ma yeskaro
Awwal ma yeghlo w ysiro bl sameke l baddak yeha (kl ma tawwalo ghale kl ma asmak) tfi 3anoun w 7ot no2tit mazaher w mawared w trekoun yeberdo
7otoun bi annine bl borrad

Crepe

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 23:10:00 +0000

Serving Size: 6 pcs

Ideal Recipe

Category	Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Dry Base	Flour	150g	1 cup
	Sugar	25g	1.5 tbsp
Liquid Base	Milk	236ml	1 cup
	Water	Lal terkheye chway	Lal terkheye chway
	Egg	2 pcs	2 pcs
Fat	Oil	14ml	1 tbsp

Possible Alternative Recipes

Replace XXX With XXX

Ingredient	Weight	Volume

Replace XXX With XXX and XXX

Ingredient	Weight	Volume

Experiments

Category	Ingredient	JW
Dry Base	Flour	150g
	Sugar	25g
Liquid Base	Milk	236ml
	Egg	2 pcs
Fat	Oil	14ml

Feedback

Experiment	Feedback
JW	Flavorfull and ideal as a first recipe

Waffles

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 20:43:00 +0000

Serving Size: 12 Waffles

Ideal Recipe

Category	Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Dry Base	Flour	300g	2 cup
	Sugar	45g	3 tbsp
	Salt	4g	1 tsp
	Baking Powder	15g	1 tbsp
Liquid Base	Milk	480ml	2 cup
	Egg	2 pcs	2 pcs
Fat	Butter (melted)	107g - 170g	1/2 cup - 3/4 cup
Extras	Vanilla	5g	1 tsp

Possible Alternative Recipes

Replace Butter With Oil

Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Oil	118ml	1/2 cup

Replace Butter With a Butter-Oil Mix

Ingredient	Weight	Volume
Butter (melted)	54g	1/4 cup
Oil	87g	1/3 cup

Experiments

Category	Ingredient	Fadia	JW	Fadia (rev 1)	Fadia (rev 2)	Fadia (rev 3)	Fadia (rev 4)
Dry Base	Flour	300g	300g	300g	300g	300g	300g
	Sugar	15g	45g	45g	45g	45g	45g
	Salt	1g	4g	4g	4g	4g	4g
	Baking Powder	15g	15g	15g	15g	15g	15g
Liquid Base	Milk	480ml	240ml	480ml	236ml	480ml	480ml
	Buttermilk		120ml		236ml
	Egg	2 pcs	2 pcs	2 pcs	2 pcs	2 pcs	2 pcs
	Egg Yolk		1 pcs
Fat	Butter (melted)		170g			107g - 170g	54g
	Oil	118ml		118ml	118ml		87g
Extras	Vanilla	5g	5g	5g	5g	5g	5g

Feedback

Experiment	Feedback
Fadia (rev 4)	Basic, even if it has butter percentage. Butter percentage can be experimented
Fadia (rev 3)	Replace the oil with butter. Major flavor change with rich taste due to butter
Fadia (rev 2)	Same as Fadia (rev 1) but with a mix of milk and buttermilk. No real difference. Buttermilk didn’t add a lot of flavor
Fadia (rev 1)	Using the ingredients of the Fadia recipe but with JW measurements. Bit better than basic, since a little sweeter
JW	Too many ingredients
Fadia	Basic, no major flavor, rely on topping

Yawmiyet Khebbez (Part 0): Preface

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 21:51:03 +0000

How It All Started

I’m creating this blog to first, remind future me of why I chose to spend so much time and effort developing this hobby, and second, to document and track my progress as well as any notes and tips that I experience throughout this journey. So whenever you forget why you started baking, and why you chose it as your hobby, please read this post.

Badde yek tetzakkar ma3e lamma kent tou3a l soboh 3a settak l 3omra 75 sene, we3e 3al 5 wej l daw la te3joun w tekhbouz 2atyab mna2ish bayd b2awarma, kechk, zaatar. Aw lamma ykoun sarla yawmen bt na22ich maamoul w kaak, w 2adde enta bt koun mcha7ri2 yokhlas l syem la tekeloun 3al 3id. Aw kamen ri7it l ale li btekhnou2 bl bayt 3al ghtas lamma tkoun 3am te2le maakron w ouwaymet.

Hawde kelloun mch 3am zakrak fiyoun la 7assisak bl zanb, bass badde yek tetzakkar adde kenit tonbosit lamma kenit tes2alna w tontour n2ella eza taybin, w adde kenit ton2ohir lamma ma yotla3o 3a zaw2a ma3 2enno henne bi kouno bi jannino bass chakel l knefe ma 3ajaba aw l kaaket 2a2sa chway mn l 3ede. W zyede 3an hek, adde kenit t7eb t2ella khalline se3dik aw 3almine ma3ik.

Fa 3raf 2enno l hadaf l assese men kl hal machrou3 houwwe enno tcherik l 3elam l bte3nilak bl chi li 3am ta3emlo law kif ma toli3, metel ma settak be2yit kl 7ayeta techteghil bl roghom mn kel machekela l so7iyye 3a charet enno kenit techteghil la tobsotna: That’s the whole point.

The Structure

Now that I’ve went through the motivation for writing this blog, I want to try developing a template that I’ll try to follow in all upcomming posts.

Why Do I Need A Template?

I’ve discussed above how helping out my teta was the reason I started baking in the first place. But what I failed to mention was how frustrating it is to try and learn recipes and proper techniques from someone who has spent her entire life baking by feel and not by exact measurements. So phrases like chwayit mele7, sir zid may chway chway la tsir l 3ajine mni7a, and heh ttalla3 hek bt 2arris l 3ajine were a couple of many expressions that made no sense to me at the beginning.

Although I’ve realized that baking by feel is a skill one must learn and develop, as the amazing feeling of getting a good bake without using a scale or any specific measurements makes you feel like you actually understand the properties of the dough and the baking process on an internal level. But this technique has the downside of not being able to easily experiment with variations on recipes, since you won’t be able to accurately compare recipe modifications and understand the reason for the change in the final product.

This is why I’m creating a system that will easily allow me to compare recipes and different types of baked goods. To note that, this template will surely evolve and get optimized as necessary over time.

Template

Since one of the main purposes of this blog is to keep track of recipes, each post will include a table containing all the optimal specifications of a given recipe for quick access. Also, as I experiment with new tweeks on a given recipe, a column will be added to the table with the modification to that recipe.

The table will include the below basic properties, as well as any other miscellaneous notes:

Ingredient measurements by weight and volume, although weight measurements are preferred (explanation comming soon), both metrics will be listed
Hydration rate of the dough (explanation comming soon)
Flour type distrbution, if multiple types of flour are used
Oven baking specifications, including: temperature, steam, baking time, etc.

For instance, this would be an example of a table for a recipe where I experimented with two different hydration levels:

		Experiment A	Experiment B
Ingredients	Total	696g	696g
	White Flour	274g	274g
	Brown Flour	134g	134g
	Water	250g	300g
	Sugar	13g	13g
	Olive Oil	17g	17g
	Salt	8g	8g
Flour Type Distribution	Total	408g	408g
	White Flour	67%	67%
	Brown Flour	33%	33%
Hydration Rate		61%	73%
Oven Specs
	Temperature	200°C	200°C
	Steam	Yes	No
	Baking Time	30-40 minutes	30-40 minutes

Following the above mentioned table, the post will proceed by listing a high level breakdown of the recipe, formated as a gantt chart, showing the typical progression of the recipe progression. This chart would look something like this:

gantt
	dateFormat DD-HH:mm
	axisFormat Day%e-%I:%M
	title Example Bread Timeline
	section Preparation
		Heat Water :prep1, 01-08:00, 10m
		Mix Ingredients 	 :prep2, 01-08:00, 10m
		Check Yeast				 :prep3, after prep2, 10m
		Knead Dough				 :prep4, after prep3, 10m
	section Resting
		First Rest				 :rest1, after prep4, 2h
		Second Rest				 :rest2, after shape2, 1h
	section Shaping
		Pre Shape				 :shape1, after rest1, 30m
		Final Shape				 :shape2, after shape1, 10m
	section Baking
		Baking				 	 :bake1, after rest2, 1h

And finally, the post will include any notes that I have on each experiment and on the recipe in general.