BREAD HYDRATION - Experimenting with different LEVELS of WATER CONTENT

In this video we will be looking at bread hydration and how different levels of water content effect the final bread. I will be making exactly the same dough, just with a different amount of water on each of them.

Dough hydration or bread hydration is known as the ratio of flour to water. Bakers like to specify this in percentages, called baker's math. If you had 60% hydration, this would mean 60 grams of water per 100 grams of flour. This way you can scale up/scale down the recipe in case you decide to bake more bread.

We are baking always the same loaf with just a change in hydration:
- 60% hydration
- 70% hydration
- 80% hydration
- 90% hydration
- 100% hydration

All of the loafs have 0.5% yeast and 2% salt. You could also be baking this with sourdough of course. The hydration to use also depends on the flour you have at hand. In general the more protein, the more water your flour can absorb.

What is your favorite hydration? What has worked best for you?

[geof]

An engineer systematically testing bread is what the world needs right now.

[abdulbasithashraf]

And here I thought the more hydration the better. Thanks for the video.

[nehaarjun]

I am currently obsessed with sourdough bread. Failed many time now, but nerdy baker like you is a life saver! Love the systematical, mathematical approach. Learning from mine as well as your failures😊

[dow]

Thank you for this 1 minute video that does a better job getting to the differences in hydration than any other I've seen. Would be nice to know the elevation you baked at.

[fmuke]

Thank you for this experiment; I thought I was over fermenting my dough based on other YouTubers. Turns out that the hydration I was using was too high for my flour, all thanks to your video🏆

[sofakinggood]

Thanks for the info. It gives me more knowledge for baking.

[moogs]

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing :)

[dmwieg]

In your examples, what is the protein content of the flour you are using!?? That has a direct bearing on the amount of water your flour can hold?

[ewmmdjc]

i want to know the texture which is the best and after storing days

[SteveSmith-ghyh]

I know this is a late question. I apologize. How do you calculate hydration when things like oil, eggs, butter, or milk is an ingredient?

[RWOSR]

Does dough hydration effect the crust? Ie; less hydration =softer crust, more hydration = crispier crust?

[voidremoved]

When I try to make high hydration, I get stuck in a cycle. The dough is too sticky so i wet my hands, but then I have to wet my hands again. The dough must just get wetter and more sticky then I wet my hands again... Seems like my dough is either stiff and can almost stay in a ball, or it is flabby and wont hold its shape. It seems to all taste the same to me so I should just go for a dry dough its way easier to handle and no mess, less waste...

[henrijakubowicz]

Maybe the best choice would be 65% hydration?

[Randomperson]

You mentioned 0.5% yeast in the comment for the video. Are these not sourdough breads? Thank you

[Shadowban]

The magic number is between 60 and 70. 4 cups flour, 600ml h20, teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon yeast. No sugar. Yeast in water. Salt in flour. Dutch oven 430c for 30mins uncover 30mins brown. Enough bread for 2 days. Good for sandwhich or toast or with butter.

[Asstronut]

They're all horribly underproofed, and that's an objective fact.

[guyeshel]

My 75% is thinner than your 100% .
Go figure