Bread bakers are a calm, serene, zen-like bunch. (Right?!)
But nothing gets us more paranoid than the fear of adding too much flour: too little and we have bubble-gum dough sticking to everything, too much and we've got a hockey puck.
Here's a quick tip we came across recently to help us find that perfect balance!
Have your extra flour in a shallow bowl next to your workspace.
As the dough gets too sticky to work with, dip your palms into the flour and continue kneading. Presto!
Just enough flour will stick to your hands that you'll be able to work with the dough again. The flour will gradually transfer from your hands and get absorbed into the dough.
Do this whenever the dough gets too gummy. You'll probably find that you need frequent 'dips' in the first five minutes or so, and then you'll taper off as your dough reaches a balance.
You're adding the extra flour so incrementally that you're never risking adding too much at once and going beyond the tipping point. Plus, we find this a lot less messy than picking up a measuring cup with sticky fingers and sprinkling flour everywhere!
What other tips do you have for adding the "just right" amount of flour?
Related: Beginner Sourdough Loaf
(Image: Flickr member Witigonen licensed under Creative Commons)
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Thanks for the tip! One of my cooking goals for the summer is to learn to make a few kinds of bread. I've never been particularly good at it before, but I'm going to apply myself!
view Susmita's profile
(That should be "too much" in the title :D)
view rizzuhjj's profile
I actually do my bread dough in my food processor. It takes very little effort (obv.), but I also believe it is better at aerating the dough. More air bubbles in the dough before the yeast starts working means that the yeast will have an easier time raising the dough. As a bonus, this requires virtually no additional flour as kneading does.
view Nicholas's profile
Also check out Richard Bertinet's books called Dough and the other is called Crust, I think. They come with a dvd showing his method of kneading, which doesn't require any extra flour other than what you dust on your hands in the beginning. I haven't quite got the technique down, but I don't even flour my work space anymore. The dough will stick for a few minutes but then it all comes together...
view sjbreeze's profile