Yeast Dough Hints and TipsTips

Before we start the recipes proper I want to mention some things that have made a big difference when making yeast doughs for breads, buns etc.

Hydration Ratio

The main thing is the hydration ratio (also called the golden ratio in some places). This is the ratio of water to flour in the mix, but also includes the ratios of yeast and salt to flour. It works like this

WARNING: MATHS AHEAD

First, weigh the flour and make a note of the weight. This is the measurement we'll refer to in the rest of the steps. The other main ingredients for the dough get added as percentages of the flour weight:

yeast = 1.0 - 1.4% of the flour weight
salt = 2% of the flour weight
butter/fat/oil = 3 - 6% of the flour weight
sugar/honey = 3 - 6 % of the weight

Lastly is the water/liquid (e.g. milk) and this is where it gets a bit trickier. The amount of liquid added gives the hydration ratio of the dough - the more liquid the higher the hydration. Some general guidelines:

50% ratio for very stiff dough. Maybe something that's going to be rolled out
60 - 65% ratio is for your average bread loaf or buns. The higher the ratio the stickier the dough will be to work. I've found 63% works well for most things, 64% for a softer bread loaf
65% or higher gives a really sticky dough that can be hard to work. This is what you'd use for something like ciabatta

If the recipe has an egg in it then this needs to be taken into account as well. The average egg is about 35 gm water.

As an example for a standard loaf of bread:

450gm flour
yeast: 450 * 0.01 (1%) = 4.5 and 450 * 0.014 (1.4%) = 6.3, so 5 - 6 gm yeast (use active dried yeast).
salt: 450 * 0.02 (2%) = 9 gm
sugar: 450 * 0.03 (3%) = 13.5 and 450 * 0.06 (6%) = 27 so between 15 and 25 gm sugar
butter/oil/fat: 450 * 0.03 (3%) = 13.5 and 450 * 0.06 (6%) = 27 so between 15 and 25 gm butter
water/liquid: 450 * 0.63 (63%) = 283.5 so between 280 and 285

Other tips

Weigh the ingredients

This really makes a difference with yeast doughs, and is essential with getting the right hydration ratio. 3 cups of flour might be 450 gm, or it could be 400 or 500.

Add butter last.

I'll usually get the flour, salt, yeast, sugar and water together and knead for 2 or 3 minutes, then work the butter in. This seems to give a better rise

Knead longer than you think

Kneading by hand takes at least 10 minutes. If you're uncertain knead for a bit longer. It's pretty hard to over-knead if you're doing it by hand

Don't flour the bench when kneading

It's tempting when the dough is really sticky to add flour to the bench or your hands when kneading, but doing this will bring down the hydration ratio. This is ok if that's what you want to do, but usually it's better to just persist, and use a bench scraper to scoop up the dough at the end

More fat gives a softer bread

Keeping the butter/oil/fat ratio up around 6% gives a softer end product (loaf, bun etc.). For something like French bread or bread sticks, leave out the butter completely but for a standard white bread loaf or buns I find it better to keep it near the top end of the 6% range

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