I just made some Italian bread dough and.. it just can’t be right. I followed the directions but it just remained this thick yeasty sloppy dough mixture on the dough hook that was impossible to kneed without adding another cup of flour, at least (not in the recipe). It was stuck in the bowl, it was a slimy mess on my hands. I have made bread before with success, but not Italian bread. I don’t know, I must have made a misstep somewhere. I really want to learn, any thoughts on what may have gone wrong. As I said I used a mixer with a dough hook... hmph
Not seeing the recipe or having any explanation of type of flour and amounts of each ingredient, I have no idea what went wrong. Of whether it was an error or a high hydration dough that was suppose to use a different mixing method.
If you were making focaccia, that is a hydration dough so it is very soft. It will not form into a firm tight mass.
If you bake by volume (cups) that is a problem. You have to know the ratio of flour to water, which is the hydration level. You can cram anywhere from 120g – 155g flour in a cup. So its anyone’s guess the ratio of flour to water used.
Then there is the flour brand. And type of flour. Bleached flour absorbs less water than unbleached flour. Low protein flour absorbs less water than high protein flour. When a 10% protein flour is bleached, it changes how it absorbs water.
King Arthur all purpose flour is unbleached 11.7% protein. This flour will absorb a lot of water compared to a unbleached flour and low protein flour.
Gold Medal all purpose flour is bleached 10% - 10.5% protein. So even though this flour is also an all purpose flour, it will absorb a lot less water than King Arthur brand all purpose flour. So this flour will produce a stickier dough, and produce less gluten.
Central Milling Artisan Craft is unbleached 10% - 10.5% protein. This flour is also an all purpose flour. It will not absorb as much as the King Arthur flour, but it absorbs more than the Gold Medal.
So you have to know your flours and know the ratio of water to flour.
