February 26, 2018 - 2:50am
Very Interesting Factoid
According to my calculations (based on an 808g straight dough), a single teaspoon of water will raise the hydration percentage from 70% to 71%. So, 2 tablespoons of water will raise the percentage from 70% up to 76%. That astounds me how so little additional water can make such a tremendous difference.
I am no mathematical genius by a long shot. But I calculate each additional 5g of water increases the hydration by 1%.
Dan
Share
@ 70% hydration = 333g water + 475g flour (or 70.11% to be precise)
1 tsp of water = 5g
New hydration: 338/475x100 = 71.16%
Correct!
Never thought of it like that. Does that make me feel better about doing higher hydration doughs ? A little bit I think. Takes the fear factor out of the mix- so to speak. Also on the other hand, doing less hydration doesn't make it so much of a cheat, because I don't know about you, but I always feel' should go for that high hydration or it's not real artisan bread.
It makes me use more care when wetting hands and tools if I want to stay close to the prescribed hydration.
Its crazy how so little water makes the dough so much wetter.
Dan
for flour to be 100% hydrated it needs = weight water to flour. But we're talking about half the volume.
So a 100th of half the volume is 1% hydration.
Yes, a little goes a long way! I like to start with a carefully measured (weighed) amount of water, but I might hold some back or add a bit as the dough develops, depending on how it feels. That little amount of water can also come from other things like using wet hands or tools, or even baking when the air is humid!
investing in an electronic scale. Get one that weighs to a decimal point or two.
You are right, Wendy. I feed my starter twice a day. Mine is 66%, so I have to knead it a little. The humidity is getting higher now and I find I need to add a little more flour now. If I don't it is too wet to knead.
Dan