Some are happy with less, some have a sweet spot in the middle, and others need to push the limits. Great bread is made when hydration matches the needs of a loaf or dough type. (Photo by Martin Philip) So, is wetter better when it comes to bread? Wet doughs gain strength through plenty of folding. Faith is restored and the next thing I know, I'm shaping, chilling, and baking, and a well-formed kid is on their way to college. The mood in the bowl gets cooperative, bonds form, gluten strengthens, knitting itself without my hovering. And when I return to check in over the course of a few hours, I sense the change. I step away, I remind myself that the environment is good, my flour is strong, my culture is healthy - the dough will come around. They lack structure, they stick to my hands, they talk to me like a teenager.Īnd that’s OK. With multiple hours between the preferment, extended bulk fermentation, and cool overnight rise, patience is an unlisted ingredient.īut for me, they have their own rewards. On my list of minor miracles is the transformation of wheat from glass-hard grain to powder to a smooth, cohesive mass … I'm speechless every time. And they take time to make - bad news if you’re out of bread. Sometimes sticky, these doughs benefit from a delicate touch and may require new techniques: like folding rather than kneading and loose shaping. If your bread comfort zone revolves around sturdy pan loaves, breads with add-ins, and enriched breads, you may find higher hydration doughs like the anadama from Night Moves difficult to deal with. (Photo by Sam Wells) What are these doughs like to work with? Louie and Clint Prager with a load of bread in their bakery kitchen. Across the country, bakers are producing long-fermented loaves with open structure and burnished crusts, often marked as a “Country Loaf,” with each town adding their own twist to the style. Today, bakeries like Prager Brothers in Carlsbad, California and Night Moves in Biddeford, Maine would likely classify much of what they produce as “high hydration.” (I made a video of Night Moves’ anadama bread - you can see for yourself how sticky it is.) And they’re not alone. Pooling at the edge of his shaping area, glistening with moisture, slack doughs wait for their turn to become slender loaves. The genesis of this approach is hard to track, but it isn’t new. My favorite image of a baker is an antique black and white photo, shot in a dark French basement. Bakers like Kristen Dennis, Addie, and Claudio share photos and tutorials guiding bakers to lacy, high-rising beauties, and their work is undeniably gorgeous.

You’ve likely seen some of these loaves on Instagram, cut open to reveal a wildly open crumb. (Photo by Claudio Perrando) Chasing the hole-y grail This pan de cristal by is almost too stunning to eat. But for many, the most coveted feature of high-hydration loaves is their dramatically open crumb or alveolar structure. In other words, it’s all about the holes. Strong, wet doughs spring well in the oven, forming nice “ears” and, if given time in cold fermentation, a blistered crust. High ratios of water, when combined with active fermentation and good gluten development (through time, mixing, and folds), have the potential to significantly open the crumb (or the “alveolar structure”) of loaves. High-hydration bread refers to loaves with a high ratio of water to flour, by weight. In baker’s percentages, we’re talking about doughs that are often in excess of 80% hydration. In some cases, hydration may actually exceed 100% due to the thirsty needs of high protein or whole-grain flours (such as our bread flour or whole wheat). In those situations, the recipe has more water than flour.

When it comes to bread, is wetter really better? What exactly is 'high-hydration' bread? But is there a point to it? Are we on the right path?

It’s also clear that many bakers have their foot on the gas, speeding toward this challenge. There’s no denying that Instagram and social media stoke the appetite for horsepower, high hydration, open crumbs, sailboat “ears,” and complicated shaping - all trademarks of highly hydrated doughs. Two bakers, separate hot rods, revving at the start line like, “What’s YOUR hydration?” And, “Oh, yeah?! I go much higher than that!” Wet doughs have become the drag race of baking.

Wetter or more wet