62.5% vs 64.5% hydration -- big difference

[brokencookie]

Originally Posted by james

Drew,
This was all done using my handy FB digital, measuring the water and the flour.

If the flour is damp (which the Monterey peninsula is; it's really foggy here), then the flour would be heavier, and some of that weight would be water.

Possible?

James

Yup, mass is also temperature dependent for small measurements. I try to keep my flour sealed in an air-tight container. Here in Washington dry ingredients self-hydrate quite quickly. ( say that three times as fast as you can )

Bruce

[james]

This all reminds me of something the Caputo family said. They claim that their pizzeria flour will work with the same recipe your around in Naples -- and that they made modifications to the flour for the season.

I always thought that was sort of a stretch (forgive the pun), but with my experience here, I have to say it makes sense.

Winter and summer versions of the flour. :-) From the mill to the pizzeria.

James

[gjbingham]

My thinking is that the dough/flour continue to absorb water from the atmosphere as long as they are exposed to it, until they reach an equilibrium with the air around it. If you take the flour out of an air tight container and expose it to 80% humidity, the water you need to add for dough is less than if the humidy is 40%
Just an observation, no scientific method here.

[CanuckJim]

Drew,

One of the things I teach in my bread workshops is to always have a cheap, analog temp and humidity gauge in the kitchen. High humidity will always change the necessary hydration level; so too very low humidity. I think most formulas are based on an average 50 per cent humidity. Once you know which way you're off and how much, you'll either need slightly less water or slightly more. And, yes, humid flour will weigh more.

Jim

[pjones]

This weekend in Phoenix we had 2% humidity (the driest it has been in 20 years) and my bread and pizza dough seemed very dry compared to other days. I use scales and try for 65% hydration. In the future I will start looking at the humidity and adjust accordingly.

Paul

[chuckster]

James,

Can you provide the entire recipe that you're using. And can you make it the night before you bake with it?

Chuck

[james]

Hey Chuck,

This is a case of eating your own home cooking. I use the recipe on FB.com. :-)

You can find it here; I use the "by weight" method using the FB digital scale.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f19/...flour-357.html (Using Caputo Tipo 00 Flour)

James

[david s]

When preparing clay, by wedging and kneading, a certain amount of water is lost through evaporation. Feel the dampness on your hands. Dough would be the same. If this were taken into consideration the resulting perfect consistency would probably be 61.8% which just happens to also be the magic ratio 1:1.618, phi, the Golden Ratio etc. etc. Interesting?