I used to be scared of wet dough, but now I just go for it

For my first year of baking, I'd add extra flour the second the dough felt sticky, which gave me dense loaves. Last month, I followed a recipe for a high-hydration white bread from a baker in Seattle and forced myself to not add any extra flour during mixing. The dough was a mess at first, but after a few folds it came together and baked up with huge air pockets. Has anyone else made that switch from a dry to a wetter dough, and how did you handle the sticky stage?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_chen15d ago

That sticky stage is just a test of faith, honestly.

harper_rodriguez8714d ago

Oh man, totally! I mean, I was the same way, always adding a ton of flour. My first few high-hydration batches were a sticky nightmare on my hands, I almost gave up. But like @grace_chen said, it's a test of faith. I just kept doing the stretch and folds every 30 minutes, and by the third one it finally stopped sticking to the bowl and felt smooth. The crumb was so much better after that.