February 28, 2010 - 12:14pm
%hydration of baked loaf
Dear all.
I wonder if anyone has checked this subject:
I am baking 100%spelt sourdough bread, that includes starter, spelt, water and salt.
The dough has 70% hydration. What should be the "right" %hydration of the baked loaf?
I get it from 45% to 55%.
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the link is http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16550/spelt-question
Others are discussing this topic, and I bet your contribution(s) would be useful. You're all interested in exactly the same thing!
baking. The difference can be subtracted from the liquids in the recipe and the hydration recalculated. The only thing to evaporate in the oven is moisture.
Mini
It's not a constant value. Crust loses almost all of its water, and crumb retains most of its, so average hydration after baking will be determined by the ratio of crust and crumb, which depends on size, shape and whether it was panned or not.
I was taught as a general rule, that breads lose about 10% of their weight in the oven.
This will vary, but it is a starting point.
So a 1 lb loaf scaled at 1 lb 2 oz should come out of the oven at 1lb.
Assuming a formula is 168% at 60% hydration the loaf is 36% water
60/168=35.7
if it loses 2 oz in the oven or 10%, and all of it is moisture, the final product is 26% water.
John