How to tell if there is not enough water in the recipe. If the water in the recipe isn't sufficient, the dough will feel dry and be unable to stretch easily. This slows down the proofing process. It can also damage the dough structure as there isn't enough water for the gluten to unravel and stretch.
Dough with not enough water will not only feel dry to the touch, but will also be difficult to stretch. If that's the case, you'll want to add water before the dough has the chance to proof and damage the gluten. Add the water little by little until the dough is wet, but not sticky.
Dust your hands with flour then shape the dough into a ball. Then push the bread away from you with your palms using a rolling motion. After every push, fold the dough over on itself, then give it a quarter turn and repeat. You may need to add more flour as you go if the dough sticks.
Water serves as a solvent and dispersing agent (for salt, sugar, and yeast). Water is necessary for yeast fermentation and reproduction; softer doughs will ferment more quickly than dry doughs. Water is responsible for the consistency of bread dough.
If the water in the recipe isn't sufficient, the dough will feel dry and be unable to stretch easily. This slows down the proofing process. It can also damage the dough structure as there isn't enough water for the gluten to unravel and stretch.
This may seem obvious, but don't just dump more water into your bread dough. To incorporate more water into the mixture, add only 1 tablespoon of additional liquid at a time, kneading the dough just until it comes together. Too much kneading and the dough might not be dry anymore, but now it's tough.
Generally speaking, a flour to water ratio of 2:1 achieves a dough of reasonable consistency. So if you have 500g of flour, use about 250 mL of water.
Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.
The amount of water you add to your dough directly affects how the crumb in your baked loaf. A more open crumb results in bigger holes and a softer texture, whereas a closed crumb results in a more robust textured bread. Simply put, the more water in your dough, the more open the crumb will be.
Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior. Slices will be very crumbly, especially toward the middle.
What bakers call the “poke test” is the best way to tell if dough is ready to bake after its second rise. Lightly flour your finger and poke the dough down about 1". If the indent stays, it's ready to bake. If it pops back out, give it a bit more time.
The Poke Test – Give that ball of dough a firm poke with your finger. If the indentation fills back quickly, you're good to go. If it stays looking like a deep dimple, continue kneading. 4.
What happens if the dough is too wet? If the dough is too wet, it may result in flat, dense, and gummy bread. The bread may also have a tough crust and need more texture and structure. The dough may be challenging to handle and shape, making it difficult to create a desirable loaf.
If too much water is added to the dough, it will not be able to rise. The dough can be affected in two ways. Either the dough is weighed down with water and can not rise, or the raising agent was diluted and rendered ineffective. The best way to rectify this is to add more flour.
Adding flour or water to dough after it has risen is not advised, but it is possible if it hasn't risen for too long. The ingredients become harder to incorporate because the dough is already formed, and it has to be kneaded again which could damage the structure built when rising.
For a normal loaf, the more you knead it the less sticky it becomes. Dough is always wet and sticky at first but, once you've kneaded it for five to six minutes, it becomes less sticky and more glossy as it develops a skin, which is the gluten forming.
Bread dough should be sticky and wet when you begin kneading it. I encourage everyone in my classes to embrace the stickiness! When water is first added to flour, the flour takes a while to fully absorb it all, making that dough even more sticky.
An overproofed dough won't expand much during baking, and neither will an underproofed one. Overproofed doughs collapse due to a weakened gluten structure and excessive gas production, while underproofed doughs do not yet have quite enough carbon dioxide production to expand the dough significantly.
Water. Different flours absorb different quantities of water, but for a strong white flour the rule of thumb is to take the amount of flour you are using in grams, work out 60% of that and add that amount in ml. For example, if using 1 kilogram of flour, add 600ml water.
Too little water makes the dough easier to roll out.
No matter what amount you choose, the rules hold. The ratio is 5:3. If you're similarly befuddled by math, just tack on an invisible 1, select an amount for that 1, multiple that amount by 3 and then 5, and you should get the amount of flour and water you need.
Keeping the dough cold during mixing—especially when friction from a food processor is involved—allows the yeast to ferment gradually when the dough is refrigerated. During this proofing period, the yeast develops complex flavors and creates just enough gas bubbles to make the dough pliable.
Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly, creating a dry texture. A range of flour is always given in yeast bread recipes because flours vary in moisture content, reacting in different ways depending on the time of year, weather conditions, etc.