Formula Construction

Formula construction is an essential skill of a commercial baker and necessary in bread making. It involves knowing the percentage of the ingredients to be used in a baked product like bread. Formula construction is done so the baker is able to economize. In making the formula, the percentage of each ingredient is based on a standard range derived from scientific studies conducted on bread making. If the percentage of the ingredients used is within the standard ranges, a baker is assured that the formula he is using is balanced and will result in the production of high quality baked products.

Lean Type of Bread

Flour		100%
Water	50	60%
Yeast	1.5	2.5%
Salt	1.5	2%
Milk Solids	2.0	8%
Sugar	3.0	1%
Shortening	3.0	6%

Baker's Percentage

The baker's percentage is a formula where the flour, whatever the actual amount, is always 100%, while the percentage of the rest of the ingredients are estimated according to the amount of flour to be used. To get the percentage of the other ingredients, use the following equations:

Baker's percentage = (Weight of ingredient / Formula flour weight) x 100

To convert the percentage of the ingredients into grams, follow this equation:

Given %/100 x Base = Grams

If you want to state grams in percent, follow this equation:

Given %/100 = Percentage

Sample Computation

Flour base = 25 kilos (25,000 grams)

Ingredients	%	Computation	Grams
flour	100	100/100 x 25,000	25,000
water	62	62/100 x 25,000	15,000
dry yeast	1	1/100 x 25,000	250
salt	2	2/100 x 25,000	500
sugar	4	4/100 x 25,000	1,000
shortening	4	4/100 x 25,000	1,000
milk solids	4	4/100 x 25,000	1,000

Flour base = 5,ooo grams

Ingredients	Grams	Computation	%
flour	5000	5,000/5,000 x 1000	100
water	3,000	3,000/5,000 x 1000	60
dry yeast	50	50/5,000 x 1000	1
salt	75	75/5,000 x 1000	1.5
sugar	200	200/5,000 x 1000	4
shortening	150	150/5,000 x 1000	3