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Every time I try something that utilizes a "wet" dough I have problems handling them. For example, "artisan" breads, "no-knead" breads, pizza dough.
I just made a pizza dough, followed the recipe to a "T", and when it came time to "divide the dough in half", I couldn't get it divided. Yes, I sprinkled the top with flour as the recipe said, then ran my pastry scraper down the middle, and the divide promptly filled in. I ended up scraping it all out onto some floured, waxed paper (I know, I know, I will never do that again) and having the gloppiest mess you ever saw. I finally tore the paper in half after I got it divided, picked the paper up, and plopped the dough into the skillet. (Then I had to pick out the waxed paper bits. LOL) AND a lot of it ended up sticking to the bowl (I used a glazed pottery bowl, very slick.)
On TV, they just pick up these doughs, throw them around, easily divide them, etc. Why can I never handle these doughs? Any tips?
P.S. It is very rainy and humid today....does that have anything to do with the wetness of the dough? Should I cut back on the water some when it is humid? (it's always humid here, as a matter of fact)
I would love to get a handle on baking bread and doing it more often, but this has literally happened every time I've tried, and I'm discouraged.
It sounds to me as though you are not adding enough flour, even given that you are following the written directions. Bread baking is an art as much as a science, and relies on feel as much as on the recipe. I always went by the guideline that when the dough is ready to set aside to rise, it should feel firm but resilient, slightly damp but definitely not wet or gloppy. I would add more flour rather than cutting back on the water, though.
At first I wasn't going to add this, but my inner guideline has always been that the dough ball when ready to rise should feel like a baby's behind on a warm summer day, smooth and firm but resilient with a slight feel of dewiness or dampness. Then I decided to Google "What does bread dough feel like when it is ready to rise?" and lo and behold, one of the first responses said, "It should feel like the consistency of flesh with a slightly sticky or tacky surface." It definitely should not "fill in" when divided, that is too wet.
If you can find someone else who bakes and shadow her or him while they are making bread or pizza dough, that would probably answer a lot of your questions.
Well the no-knead bread dough doesn't get handled. At least not until it gets the flour added. What recipe are you using and when are you trying to "handle" the dough?
Kiddo, you just need to add as much flour as you need to make it the consistency you like. Who cares what the recipe says?
I make a very loose pizza dough, but it still holds together in the bowl. I don't knead it at all. I pat it with some oil and cover it up until it has doubled. When I dump it into the pan, I use as much flour as I need to, to push out the dough onto the pan.
Dough is like dogs. It can smell fear. Don't be afraid of it. Add some flour, or add some water, or add some oil. You rule it.
Well the no-knead bread dough doesn't get handled. At least not until it gets the flour added. What recipe are you using and when are you trying to "handle" the dough?
I was using a recipe from Martha Stewart's site. It wasn't supposed to be kneaded, but I simply could not even divide it in two in the bowl, as it was so wet and sticky. I had this same problem when I was trying to do no-knead bread....I just couldn't handle it at all (like when transferring it to a pan or "shaping" it into a round shape) without it just sticking to my hands like spider webs!...even though I would flour my hands, sprinkle the dough with flour, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
Kiddo, you just need to add as much flour as you need to make it the consistency you like.
But...but...I don't have a clue what consistency I "like"! I've read that there are different "wetnesses" for different applications (sandwich, artisan, French, Italian, etc.), and I don't know what's what.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
Dough is like dogs. It can smell fear. Don't be afraid of it. Add some flour, or add some water, or add some oil. You rule it.
Ha! No way do I rule dough...it can definitely smell fear on me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by maggie2101
The humidity does have lots to do with it. If you have windows open, close them and turn on the heat or a/c, whichever is appropriate.
I have the same issue 75% of the time.
No windows open, but no a/c on either. Next time I guess I'll just be brave and add a little more flour. That's hard for me, as I do not have that cooking "intuition" and tend to pretty much slavishly follow recipes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJulia
I have no advice, just sympathy. Dough and I are not friends.
Thank you. It really does help to know I'm not alone.
I've since found a "copycat" Pizza Hut pan pizza recipe I may try next time, even though it requires kneading and I've not perfected that skill.
That's your problem...flour is just not going to be exact in that type of dough. You can't just follow the recipe with no intution. Age of the flour.... it's chemical make up...humidity...temp.....what type of bowl....the variables go on.
Learn what consistency you need to get the texture you want....add flour is small amounts until you get it.
Also...you don't have to 'perfect' kneeding...you just beat it up until gluten forms.
Yes! Add more flour! It shouldn't be "wet"!!!!! It should feel a bit like (excuse the comparison, but it's true) an old woman's upper arm....do you know what I mean? Easily malleable, but not wet on the surface!
Kiddo, you just need to add as much flour as you need to make it the consistency you like. Who cares what the recipe says?
I make a very loose pizza dough, but it still holds together in the bowl. I don't knead it at all. I pat it with some oil and cover it up until it has doubled. When I dump it into the pan, I use as much flour as I need to, to push out the dough onto the pan.
Dough is like dogs. It can smell fear. Don't be afraid of it. Add some flour, or add some water, or add some oil. You rule it.
Really, that was funny!
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