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You get used to it. In practice it makes things very simple! Especially if you have a scale with a % option [0], but even without if you’re cooking with nice ro

You get used to it. In practice it makes things very simple! Especially if you have a scale with a % option [0], but even without if you’re cooking with nice round metric weights. I just chuck some flour on the scale, whack the % symbol, and use the set percentages for everything else. [1] https://myweigh.com/product/kd8000/ https://myweigh.com/product/kd8000/

sva_ 4y ago
I just use 80% hydration, it makes things easier and tastier.
- JustSomeNobody 4y ago
  A bit messy though.
  - ycombinete 4y ago
    For me, anything over 65% usually requires stretch and fold technique, as opposed to a knead. It's not messy at all when done that way.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  Depends a lot of ambient humidity. When I lived in the North of Ireland (rainforest humidity) I always had to vastly reduce the humidity level of every recipe, sometimes by as much as half, otherwise I'd be drinking my baguettes.
  - ericbarrett 4y ago
    So true, I just ruined a rye loaf by under-hydrating it at 65%, but I live in the desert. Lesson learned! I find it also depends on your flour, even batch to batch (we buy 50 lb bags). Some have higher moisture content and one needs to adjust by a few % even in the same external conditions.
SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
> You get used to it. You do. The single most important factor is "what does the dough feel like - how stiff and hard, or how loose and wet?" The water % captures this in 1 number. e.g. A 60% hydration pizza dough is much stiffer than a 80% hydration focaccia dough. Just by seeing that one number, I get an idea of how the dough is going to be to work with.
- nsb1 4y ago
  Yeah, but what you're saying is essentially "I don't need the recipe anymore - I can do this by feel", which is awesome, but who then is the recipe for except people who are trying to learn? Maybe throw us a bone :)
  - SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
    > Yeah, but what you're saying is essentially "I don't need the recipe anymore - I can do this by feel" I'm really not. I don't do it "by feel", I measure everything in grams, including water. I hate recipes in "cups" since a cup of flour or salt is not a fixed quantity - it depends on grain size, how hard you pack it down, the weather etc. But 10g salt is a fixed amount. I'm just saying that "500g flour, 60% hydration" tells me a lot about both how to measure it accurately (300g water), and how it will feel (fairly stiff). It's an accurate part of the recipe, expressed in the fewest numbers. The % is scale-invariant.
    - foobarian 4y ago
      If ambient humidity can affect moisture content of flour, then you have more unknowns than constraints and hydration % is not enough. Doing it by feel would seem to be required to get an end-to-end result.
      - SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
        Yes, though that isn't such a big deal for me, as I'm not in a desert or a rainforest, the ambient humidity here is middling and doesn't vary so much. Minor changes are not very important. Flour gets stored in sealed containers, and compensations for the changes during baking are minor. e.g. the cloth over the dough is moistened during summer. Ambient humidity maybe matters like a 1-2% difference here, not a 10% difference. I do notice seasonal changes, but that's IMHO more due to changes in ambient room temperature than anything else. Also, I would say that measuring in grams allows you to notice and more accurately quantify that "it's dryer than usual today for the same quantities - must be due to the ambient conditions that require an adjustment".

sva_ 4y ago

I just use 80% hydration, it makes things easier and tastier.

JustSomeNobody 4y ago
A bit messy though.
- ycombinete 4y ago
  For me, anything over 65% usually requires stretch and fold technique, as opposed to a knead. It's not messy at all when done that way.
AlecSchueler 4y ago
Depends a lot of ambient humidity. When I lived in the North of Ireland (rainforest humidity) I always had to vastly reduce the humidity level of every recipe, sometimes by as much as half, otherwise I'd be drinking my baguettes.
- ericbarrett 4y ago
  So true, I just ruined a rye loaf by under-hydrating it at 65%, but I live in the desert. Lesson learned! I find it also depends on your flour, even batch to batch (we buy 50 lb bags). Some have higher moisture content and one needs to adjust by a few % even in the same external conditions.

SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago

> You get used to it. You do. The single most important factor is "what does the dough feel like - how stiff and hard, or how loose and wet?" The water % captures this in 1 number. e.g. A 60% hydration pizza dough is much stiffer than a 80% hydration focaccia dough. Just by seeing that one number, I get an idea of how the dough is going to be to work with.

nsb1 4y ago
Yeah, but what you're saying is essentially "I don't need the recipe anymore - I can do this by feel", which is awesome, but who then is the recipe for except people who are trying to learn? Maybe throw us a bone :)
- SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
  > Yeah, but what you're saying is essentially "I don't need the recipe anymore - I can do this by feel" I'm really not. I don't do it "by feel", I measure everything in grams, including water. I hate recipes in "cups" since a cup of flour or salt is not a fixed quantity - it depends on grain size, how hard you pack it down, the weather etc. But 10g salt is a fixed amount. I'm just saying that "500g flour, 60% hydration" tells me a lot about both how to measure it accurately (300g water), and how it will feel (fairly stiff). It's an accurate part of the recipe, expressed in the fewest numbers. The % is scale-invariant.
  - foobarian 4y ago
    If ambient humidity can affect moisture content of flour, then you have more unknowns than constraints and hydration % is not enough. Doing it by feel would seem to be required to get an end-to-end result.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
      Yes, though that isn't such a big deal for me, as I'm not in a desert or a rainforest, the ambient humidity here is middling and doesn't vary so much. Minor changes are not very important. Flour gets stored in sealed containers, and compensations for the changes during baking are minor. e.g. the cloth over the dough is moistened during summer. Ambient humidity maybe matters like a 1-2% difference here, not a 10% difference. I do notice seasonal changes, but that's IMHO more due to changes in ambient room temperature than anything else. Also, I would say that measuring in grams allows you to notice and more accurately quantify that "it's dryer than usual today for the same quantities - must be due to the ambient conditions that require an adjustment".