Dough feels like clay
Hi!
I have been making dough for a few years, and I will admit upfront that I never measure anything or follow any recipe.
Most of the time my dough is good, but there are times where I pour the water in, mix a few seconds, and I already know that I have failed my dough because it's like clay, in the sense that the dough is tougher than it should be.
I think it cannot be from a lack of water, because if I don't put enough, the dough will be clumpy and not mix completely, and that is easy to solve with more water.
It could be too much water, but when the dough is tough like that from the start, adding more flour during kneading never seems to ease the dough in any way.
Could it be caused by water being too cold when I pour it in? Could it somehow be the temperature of the room? Anything else?
I always use water from the same tap, and always do a mix of roughly 40% whole wheat flour 60% white flour. Sometimes I use cold water from the tap, sometimes I warm it up first, and I suspect that too cold water is the culprit.
When going by feel. One can add water but not take water away. Adding more flour knocks everything else out of sync, since everything is in relation to the flour, and the result is not as good. Slowly work your way up and stop when it feels right.
Wow, I never considered that to be a possible issue. I will do that from now on, thank you!
Seriously, just measure things.
You are missing out. There can be subtle differences between flour from one source and another. Protein content, Gluten content, ash, moisture etc... Knowing how the dough should "feel" can be more precise than any measurement.
Don't get me wrong, I measure to the gram for bread I make all the time with the same ingredients. But if you mix things up a bit, like to experiment, you seriously need to know how the dough should "feel". The best way to discover that is to mix on the fly by hand.
Since whole wheat and fine white wheat flour absorb water at different rates, you might try wetting the whole wheat first, just water and whole wheat in the bowl. (One hand only.) Let it stand covered an hour or two, then add the rest of the ingredients slowly adding the rest of the needed water. When you think all the major dry flour spots have been lightly moistened, give the dough about ten minutes rest before serious kneading (or adding more water) so the flour can hydrate and moisture can spread through the different flours evenly. This makes kneading and controlling water much more pleasurable.
Adding more water can be managed by simply dipping your hands in a bowl of water while kneading. It's slippery at first but very quickly absorbed. Repeat until you have your desired dough feel. I think it's called wet kneading, Peter Reinhart introduced me to it and it has the advantage of preventing too much flour being worked into the dough during kneading, especially handy with whole wheat and whole flours. It is fun once you get the hang of it. And clean up is easier too. Trick is knowing when to stop and just knead without flour or water.
Wetting your hands is a great suggestion.