My sourdough finally hit 100% hydration without turning into soup

I've been working on a wetter dough for about 6 months now. Kept having it collapse or stick to everything. This weekend I finally got it to 100% hydration and it held its shape after the bulk ferment. The trick was adding the water in three rounds instead of all at once. Has anyone else found a specific technique that helped them push hydration higher without a mess?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_riley1mo ago

OH MAN congratulations that is a SERIOUS achievement. I tried 100% hydration once and it was like trying to wrestle a wet cat that was also melting into a puddle. I gave up after day three of scraping dough off my countertops and eventually just poured the whole thing down the sink. My kitchen smelled like a brewery for a week. But your three round water trick sounds like a game changer. I might actually try it again now that I know a better method than just dumping all the water in at once and hoping for the best.

the_uma1mo ago

Ha! "Wrestling a wet cat" is probably the most accurate description of 100% hydration dough I've ever heard. I'm pretty sure my starter has more upper body strength than I do at this point, and I'm not even mad about it. Sounds like you gave it a solid fight though, props for sticking with it for three whole days.