Recipe hydration
Pan de Cristal — Hydration Guide
Target 95%. Workable range 90–105%.
Why this hydration for Pan de Cristal?
Pan de Cristal ('glass bread') is the Spanish extreme-hydration hearth bread. 95%+ hydration produces a crumb so open it's nearly hollow — hence 'glass.' The dough includes 5% olive oil, which lubricates the extreme hydration and allows handling. Very difficult for beginners; requires wet-hand and bench-scraper technique throughout.
Flour mix: 100% bread flour.
What 95% hydration does for Pan de Cristal
At its 95% target, Pan de Cristal bakes up with a very open, holey, translucent crumb — the hallmark of a high-hydration hearth loaf, at the cost of slack, sticky dough that needs confident handling. That's why the style sits where it does on the scale — push it much drier and it tightens toward a sandwich loaf; push it much wetter and it slackens past what the hearth structure can hold.
Worked water math for a 500 g batch
| Flour | 500 g (100%) |
| Water | 475 g (95%) |
| Salt | 10 g (2%) |
| Levain | 65 g (~13%) |
The levain already carries some of that flour and water. The calculator below subtracts its contribution so the numbers you actually weigh at the bench hit 95% exactly.
How this flour mix drinks
Pan de Cristal uses 100% bread flour. That's straight white bread flour, which handles predictably at 95% — add all the water up front and adjust only if a new bag of flour behaves differently.
Technique at 95%
Mix in stand mixer: all flour, 60% of water, oil, salt, levain. Gradually add remaining water over 5-10 min while mixing until dough is fully developed but extremely loose. 4 sets of coil folds every 30 min in first 2h, then rest for 2 more hours. Gently tip onto heavily oiled sheet pan. Cut into 4-6 rectangles with oiled bench scraper. Short 1h proof. Bake 500°F with steam, 18-22 min.
Calculator pre-set to 95%
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 425 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 985 g
- Effective hydration
- 95%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.
Pan de Cristal hydration — FAQ
What hydration is Pan de Cristal meant to be?
Target 95% — that's 95 g of water per 100 g of flour by weight. The workable range is 90–105% depending on your flour and handling skill.
How much water do I need for Pan de Cristal?
Multiply your flour weight by 0.95. For a 500 g flour batch that's 475 g water, plus about 10 g salt (2%). The calculator on this page also subtracts the water your levain already contributes.
Can I make Pan de Cristal at a lower hydration?
Down to about 90% gives a tighter crumb and much easier, less sticky handling — a good starting point if you're new to this style. Below 90% the open, characteristic Pan de Cristal texture is largely lost.
Can I make Pan de Cristal at a higher hydration?
Up to about 105% opens the crumb further but demands confident wet-dough handling (more folds, a well-floured bench, decisive shaping). Above 105% the structure usually slackens and the loaf spreads instead of rising.