Pizza Dough Hydration Explained - 60% - 65% - 70% | Making Pizza At Home

Summary

This video explores the concept of hydration in bread making, a critical factor affecting dough texture and crust quality. The presenter explains hydration as a percentage of water in the dough, demonstrating with 60%, 65%, and 70% hydration levels. At 60%, the dough is firm and non-sticky, making it easy to handle. Increasing to 65% introduces tackiness, while 70% results in a sticky, stretchy dough that requires practice to manage. The video visually contrasts the dough's handling and final crust characteristics, emphasizing the importance of finding the right hydration level for different flours and personal preferences.

Takeaways

• 💧 Hydration in bread making refers to the percentage of water in the dough recipe.
• 🍞 A higher percentage of water (hydration) results in a lighter, airier crust.
• 🌾 For every 1000 grams of flour, 600 grams of water equates to a 60% hydration level.
• 👌 At 60% hydration, the dough is firm and not sticky, making it easier to handle.
• 📈 Increasing to 65% hydration makes the dough tackier but still manageable.
• 🔍 High hydration dough (70%) requires practice and is very sticky, needing quick handling.
• 🍕 High hydration dough relaxes more after being shaped, affecting its final form.
• 📉 Lower hydration dough (60%) may need more work and is less forgiving in shaping.
• 🍅 The video demonstrates the differences in dough handling and final crust texture at varying hydration levels.
• 🚫 Not all flours can handle high hydration levels, so it's advised to start with lower levels and gradually increase.

Q & A

What is hydration in the context of making dough?

Hydration refers to the amount of water that's incorporated into a dough recipe, typically expressed as a percentage of the flour weight.

How is the hydration percentage calculated?

The hydration percentage is calculated by dividing the weight of the water by the weight of the flour and then multiplying by 100.

What is the significance of a 60% hydration dough?

A 60% hydration dough is considered to be quite firm and not sticky, making it easier to handle and resulting in a denser, crispier crust.

What are the characteristics of a 65% hydration dough?

At 65% hydration, the dough is relatively easy to work with, slightly tackier than 60% hydration, and holds its shape well.

Why is high hydration dough more challenging to work with?

High hydration doughs are stickier and require more practice to handle properly. They also tend to relax more after being shaped.

How does the dough's behavior change with different hydration levels?

With higher hydration levels, the dough becomes stickier and more elastic, requiring quicker and more gentle handling. Conversely, lower hydration doughs are less sticky and firmer.

What is the visual difference between 60%, 65%, and 70% hydration doughs after being shaped?

At 60% hydration, the dough is less sticky and holds its shape well. At 65%, it's slightly tackier but still manageable. At 70%, the dough is much stickier and requires more care to handle.

How does hydration affect the final texture of the baked bread?

Higher hydration doughs result in a lighter, airier crumb, while lower hydration doughs produce a denser, firmer crumb.

What is the recommended approach for experimenting with hydration levels?

It's advised to start with a lower hydration percentage and gradually increase it until you find a consistency that you're comfortable and satisfied with.

Is it possible for all flours to handle high hydration levels?

Not all flours can handle high hydration levels well. Some flours may require starting with lower hydration levels and working up.

What are some practical tips for working with high hydration doughs?

When working with high hydration doughs, it's important to be gentle, work quickly to avoid excessive relaxation, and possibly use techniques like stretch and fold to manage the dough.

Outlines

00:00

🍕 Understanding Hydration in Dough Making

The video script introduces the concept of hydration in bread dough, explaining it as the percentage of water in relation to the flour. It uses an example of 1,000 grams of flour and 600 grams of water to illustrate a 60% hydration level. The script contrasts the handling and characteristics of doughs with varying hydration levels: 60% is firm and not sticky, making it easier to shape; 65% is slightly tackier; and 70% requires practice due to its stickiness. The video also demonstrates the dough's behavior post-hydration, showing how it relaxes and stretches, with 60% being less sticky, 65% holding shape well, and 70% being very soft and light. The script concludes with a practical demonstration of preparing pizza bases with different hydration levels, emphasizing the need for gentle handling with higher hydration doughs.

Keywords

💡Hydration

Hydration refers to the amount of water used in a dough recipe, expressed as a percentage relative to the amount of flour. In the video, hydration levels directly influence the texture and handling of the dough. For example, 60% hydration creates a firmer dough, while 70% hydration makes it lighter and softer.

💡Dough

Dough is the mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is kneaded to create bread or pizza bases. In this context, the video explores how varying hydration levels affect the dough's consistency, stickiness, and ease of handling during preparation.

💡Percentage

Percentage in the video relates to the ratio of water to flour in the dough. For instance, 60% hydration means 600 grams of water for every 1,000 grams of flour. This method allows bakers to control how much water is added and its effects on dough texture and final product.

💡Crust

The crust refers to the outer layer of bread or pizza that forms during baking. In the video, the crust is impacted by hydration levels, with higher hydration (like 70%) creating a lighter, airier crust, while lower hydration (60%) results in a denser, drier crust.

💡Sticky

Stickiness is a characteristic of dough that becomes more pronounced as hydration increases. In the video, higher hydration doughs (e.g., 70%) are described as being stickier and harder to handle, requiring more skill to work with.

💡Flour

Flour is the main ingredient in dough and reacts with water to create gluten, giving the dough structure. The video emphasizes that different flours may have varying capacities to absorb water, affecting how well they handle higher hydration levels.

💡Airy

Airy describes the light, open texture of bread or pizza dough that has undergone high hydration. In the video, the term is used to explain the final texture of dough with 70% hydration, which results in a lighter, more open crumb structure compared to lower hydration doughs.

💡Firm

Firmness refers to the dough's stiffness or rigidity, often observed in doughs with lower hydration, like the 60% dough in the video. A firmer dough is easier to handle and shape but results in a denser, less open crumb after baking.

💡Relaxation

Relaxation in the context of dough refers to its tendency to loosen and spread out after being shaped. The video mentions that higher hydration doughs (like 70%) tend to relax more after being shaped, making them more difficult to work with but producing a softer final result.

💡Handling

Handling refers to the ease with which dough can be worked and shaped. The video discusses how lower hydration dough (60%) is easier to handle due to its firm texture, while higher hydration doughs (like 70%) are more challenging due to their stickiness and elasticity.

Highlights

Hydration is the amount of water in a dough recipe, usually expressed as a percentage.

A lower hydration percentage results in a drier, denser crust.

Higher hydration leads to a lighter, airier crust.

At 60% hydration, the dough is firm and not sticky, making it easy to handle.

At 65% hydration, the dough is slightly tackier but still holds its shape well.

High hydration dough, such as 70%, requires practice to handle due to its stickiness.

High hydration dough relaxes more after being shaped.

60% hydration dough needs a bit more work and is suitable for a simple tomato base.

65% hydration dough feels lighter and is easier to press air into the crust.

70% hydration dough is very soft and light, requiring gentle handling.

Different hydration levels affect the dough's appearance and texture.

Not all flours can handle high amounts of water, so it's best to start with lower hydration.

Experimenting with hydration levels can lead to finding a preferred dough consistency.

The video demonstrates the differences in dough handling and final product at various hydration levels.

The 60% hydration dough is slimmer and denser, while the 70% hydration dough is softer and lighter.

The video provides practical advice on working with different hydration levels in bread dough.

Transcripts

and today I thought I'd do a quick lore

video

it's a month sir probably one of the

most commonly asked questions estate

online community what is hydration so

what is hydration and in the simplest

terms

water and it's the amount of water

that's gone into your dough recipe it's

usually referred to as a percentage if

you've got 1,000 grams of flour and 600

grams of water that's considered as 60%

of hydration so the lesser amount of

water so a lot of hydration although it

would be a lot easier to handle and work

with it could give you a much drier more

Ben's crust whereas the higher amount of

water the higher hydration that you put

into the dough the end result could give

you a much nicer lighter air we crossed

the 60% is you see that the dough itself

is quite firm and it's not sticky

whatsoever so you or you will find that

this will be so much easier to ball up

65% it'll be so relatively easy to

follow it's more tackier than the 60%

with high hydration it will require

quite a lot of practice so you see

there's a lot of stretch here a lot

stickier you have to be very quick you

will find as well with high hydration

after it's been bought off it will tend

to relax even more I'm gonna put these

in a tray and we'll see that the

differences on how they drafted after

they've been brushed and over a period

we've got 60% 65% it's 70% for 60% less

amount of water the dough itself is not

sticky that's all

65% a little bit funky into person but

it's still held its shape quite well I'm

70% you can see it's much yeah okay so

because the 60% hydration does feel like

it needs just a little bit more work so

I'm just going to do very simple tomato

base or some Grana Padano now we're

gonna do the 65% hydration feels a lot

whiter just to press that air into the

crusts much easier to stretch out okay

so this is the 70% much lighter of a

thing with high hydration you see just

need to be more gentle just take time

[Music]

this is the 60% hydration you just look

slimmer Melek dance this is the does the

bit lighter much softer and we have 70%

it's really soft very light so if you

want to play around with different

levels of hydration in your dough very

simple baby not every flower can handle

high amounts of water so if you do when

I play around with it might it will be

is start low and work your way up until

you find a consistency that you're

confident and happy with

[Music]