I finally listened to that old baker about hydration levels

My mentor at the shop last Tuesday told me 75% hydration was too wet for my hand-kneading style, and after 6 collapsed loaves I finally realized she was right, has anyone else had to downgrade their hydration to match their technique?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewt411d ago

Ngl, I gotta pause at "6 collapsed loaves." That's brutal man. Honestly, I thought I was patient giving up after 3 rubber bricks before I finally admitted my kitchen was too hot for the recipe. Six though? That's some serious commitment to a losing battle. I get wanting to prove you can handle the high hydration but sometimes the dough just wins.

sean_park81d ago

Oh man, "rubber bricks" is the perfect description. I went through a phase where I thought I could just power through a bad recipe by sheer stubbornness. Did 4 batches of sourdough that all came out like hockey pucks before I finally checked my water temperature. Turns out I was killing the yeast with tap water that was way too hot. Felt like such a dummy when I figured it out. Those six loaves though, that person has some serious grit or maybe just really good oven mitts and too much time on their hands.