What a flippin’ mess
To 3-1/2 cups of flour I added a half-packet of activated yeast along with salt and a total of 8-3/4 oz of water. Mixed with spatula and fingers to achieve a sticky dough.
Let rest covered for 15-min. It was too sticky to knead so folded it over on itself several times while rotating the mixing bowl. Let rest for 20-min. Lifting the dough, I stretched it and let it fall back on itself 8 times before letting it rest covered, for 20-min.
Did the stretching and resting cycle 4 more times.
Poured the dough onto the counter and stretched and folded with bench scraper for 10-min.
Let rest for 30-min. Repeated the stretch and fold for another 10-min. Let rest for 30-min before trying to roll it up into a ball. Here’s the result after baking.
Looks a bit like focaccia.
Well time to lick my wounds. As always, comments are appreciated but I need to take a break from this.
Thanks everyone... Katie
so sorry it turned out like this🙃, Katie, tho the finished faux focaccia with onion looks really tasty.
I'm nonplussed. there's no reason I can think of why using less yeast would do this, particularly because your photos show some stretchy gluten development.
Honestly, my thought would be to treat the dough much more harshly and to do a messload of Richard Bertinet-style slap & folds. If you google slap & fold you'll find some vids of him turning dough that looks like yours into an obedient boule. Might be worth a try once you are done with your break.
Rob
Don't give up yet! go back to my suggested water - 7 1/2 oz. You way overshot. In the meantime, enjoy the foccacia!
Sorry Tom, my mistake. You said “I would go with 7 1/2 tsp.” I took that to mean 7-1/2 tsp per 1/2 cup of flour as in the test I did.
7 half/cups X 7.5 tsp = 52.5 tsp for 3-1/2 cups of flour
52.5 tsp = 8-3/4 fluid ounces
Whoops...
Katie