Newbie needs help - Why did dough remain moist and sticky?
I was trying to make some parker house rolls, I followed this recipe by Bobby Flay from the FoodNetwork website:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
I was using my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook. Everything was going well, but by the time I added all 6 cups of flour, the dough was still sticking to the sides of the bowl, and I was not getting a dough ball.
(I'm new to baking, but I learned that you should add flour until a dough ball forms and it stops sticking to the bowl. I've made pizza dough successfully with this in mind.)
So I kept adding more flour. After about another half cup of flour, the dough was getting into a ball shape and not sticking as much to the sides, but after kneading for a few more minutes, I lost the dough ball and it started sticking to the sides again.
So I added more dough. I got up to an extra cup and still the same thing. As long as I kept kneading (in the kitchenaid with the dough hook), the dough was still sticking to the sides and the dough ball would lose its form.
I finally stopped after that one extra cup of flour. I was affraid to add any more. I let it rise for about an hour and dumped it out on the counter to form into rolls, let them rise again, and baked.
The rolls came out pretty good, everything seemed normal. I imagine the rolls were heavyer than intended due to the extra flour. But what the heck was going on that I needed to add so much more flour?
The temp and humidity in my kitchen was on the cool and dry side. I sifted the flour before adding into the mix.
Thank you. I'm glad I found this website. I've just discovered the joys of baking and really having fun with it.