A Sticky Dough is a Happy Dough

I like the fact that in class we are not using Kitchen Aids for the mixing and kneading of doughs. By doing everything by hand, we are learning to identify when a dough has been kneaded enough just by feeling it. When people move on to using machines in big production kitchens to make large quantities, they will be able to look and touch the product to determine when it is done. What has amazed me most during this past week of bread-making is that most of the doughs that we have kneaded by hand are extremely sticky initially but then come together as they are kneaded more. Even the end result is something stickier than I'm used to. The home baker will undoubtedly feel the urge to add additional flour at the onset to make the dough more manageable to knead?but this is actually the worst thing they could do.

There is a lot of science behind bread making and I have a greater appreciation for the artisan baker. Formulas were created to calculate the Desired Dough Temperature (DDT). This is the precise temperature that dough should be at after kneading and before resting. It is not something that is found in recipes on the web or in many cookbooks but rewards professionals with excellent results. Accurate gluten development, hydration, fermentation, and proofing times have to be understood to create an optimal product.

For most lean doughs (ones that have very little or no fat in them), the DDT is between 75°F to 80°F (24°C to 27°C). For enriched doughs (ones that have more butter, milk, eggs, etc.), the DDT is slightly higher to keep the fats soft while kneading.

So how do you find a DDT? The only temperature you can control in a recipe is the temperature of the water that you are adding. To find the DDT for a dough, you have to calculate the sum temperatures of certain factors: room temperature, flour temperature, mixer friction (the heat generated by mixing/kneading)¹, and pre-dough (sour dough, etc.). If your recipe includes 3 of the aforementioned factors, you multiply the desired dough temperature by 3. If there are 4 factors, multiply by 4 and so on. Once you have multiplied the factors, you subtract the sum temperature of the room, flour, mixer friction, pre-dough, etc. The value left is the temperature that your water should be at when adding it to your recipe.

It is quite amazing that when you follow these calculations, and after kneading for the appropriate amount of time, that the DDT will be spot-on. The benefit of having a DDT is that the yeast will be most active during this resting period and will produce gases which will be trapped between the network of gluten strands, creating a beautiful rise in the oven.

To calculate DDT (example):


What is also interesting to me is that you can take roughly the same ingredients (flour, yeast, water, salt, butter) and form such incredibly different products from the same things just by altering the amounts, the proofing time, the baking technique, etc. Click here for more pictures of the finished products.


¹ To calculate mixer friction multiply the total kneading time by 2 (when kneading by hand). Fahrenheit should be used when calculating DDT.

Tagged as: [ baking bread ddt dough gluten kneading temperature tips ]

39 Recipes in 10 Days

Over the past 10 days in the Pastry program at NWCAV, we have already made 39 different recipes. Flaky and sweet doughs were turned into beautiful pies and tarts. Strudels, crepes, and choux paste were stuffed with a variety of goodies. Different laminated doughs created croissants, Danish, palmiers, and cinnamon straws (among many other things).

I learned a new French technique to make puff pastry. It is called an "inverted" method where the butter remains on the outside of the dough as you complete a series of turns. There are many advantages to using the French inverted method. It creates 145 layers of fat and 144 layers of dough (versus the traditional German method which creates 145 layers of dough and 144 layers of fat)–giving the French method one extra layer of fat. What are the benefits of having the butter on the outside layer? It makes it easier to roll (even though the initial thought is that it would be harder), gives it better color and rise, and there is less of a chance that your dough will dry out as the fat layer protects it.

We have also made quick breads and now we are beginning a 7-day series on bread. The pace of the course is definitely different from culinary. In pastry, even though you may have the same number of tasks to complete it is different in the sense that it all doesn't have to come together at the same moment (i.e., when you go to plate something). At least not yet! All doughs need time to rest and proof. Other things need to be chilled or frozen before you can continue. Multi-tasking definitely comes into play here but we are easing into the course. There is a tonne to learn. Pastry is very precise and scientific and patience is an absolute must.

Tagged as: [ choux dough laminated nwcav pastry pie puff tart ]