Total levain
- Seed starter
- 24.3 g
- Fresh flour
- 72.9 g
- Fresh water
- 72.9 g
- Total levain
- 170.0 g
- Levain needed for the recipe
- 150.0 g
- Reserve for your next feed
- 20.0 g
Seed : flour : water: 1 : 3 : 3
Weights are displayed to 0.1 g. Small differences in their rounded sum are normal. Hydration is a formula ratio, not a promise about dough handling or fermentation time.
Method and limits
Separate the recipe amount from the reserve
If the dough needs 150 g levain and you want 20 g left for a future feed, build 170 g. The reserve stays outside the dough formula. Putting all 170 g into a recipe written for 150 g changes both its flour and water totals.
The reserve field is an amount you choose, not a recommended minimum. You can set it to zero if you keep a separate mother starter. Allow for any expected jar or spoon losses by increasing your chosen reserve; the calculator does not add a hidden allowance.
Different seed hydration changes the water addition
The builder’s ratio field specifies fresh flour per gram of seed. It calculates fresh water to achieve the final hydration, counting water already in the seed. This makes the same field useful with a stiff or liquid starter.