Bread

What I am finding is that by adding 450ml all at once I never really get the dough to behave. So I start with 150ml and then keep adding 25-50ml. I do this up to about 350 -400 ml. And then leave to autolyse. Next I’ll add salt and more water (about 30-50ml). Then continue kneading and adding more water gradually. I might then leave for 30-60 mins before a bit more adding of water and kneading. Crucially I am now finding recipes that just produced a wet dough (and I couldn’t add all the water) are now able to take up all the water and often a significant amount more.

There are some nice advantages to working with a dry feeling dough - a lot less sticks to me or the bench. I tend to spread the dough out, simple it with my knuckles and spread a little water over the surface. I then fold it back over itself like an envelope before kneading the water in.