Hydration is the amount of liquid that goes into a dough and it has a big impact on dough feel and on the final bread. We thought it would be neat to look at this impact by baking two breads where the only difference is the amount of water in the recipe. We held all other variables constant as best we could, using the same flours, hands-off gluten development, degree of fermentation, shaping, scoring pattern, baking vessel, and bake time and temperature. Both loaves came out of the oven at the same internal temperature (209F).

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The two wheat varieties we used were hard red spring wheat and white sonora wheat. This blend made for delicious and aromatic bread that was medium in terms of “wheatiness” with some creamy nuttiness as well.

The bread for this comparison bake was a no knead whole wheat sourdough, and the two hydration percentages were 82% and 92% (or 83% and 93% if you include the flour and water from the sourdough starter in the hydration calculation). Hydration is calculated by dividing the recipe’s water weight by the flour weight.

For example, 425 grams water and 520 grams flour is 425/520 = 0.817 or 82% hydration.

As you can see below, the dryer dough came out taller and had more score bloom (opening of the cuts), while the wetter dough had less oven spring (was flatter) with less opening of the score. The appearance and texture of the inside or “crumb” was also different: more open and moist in the high hydration dough. Even the crusts were different, with the high hydration crust being thinner. Also despite going into the oven with similar amounts of surface flour, the high hydration dough seemed to absorb more of the crust flour, perhaps because it produced more steam during the bake.

Low hydration is on the left; High hydration is on the right.

While 82% hydration would never be called “low hydration” in an all purpose or bread flour dough (or spelt or einkorn for that matter), it is low hydration i.e. relatively stiff and easy to shape for this combination of fresh-milled whole grain flours. In contrast, the 92% hydration dough just crossed the line from batter into dough and was relatively messy at shaping time. Ample flour on the dough and in the proofing basket prevented it from sticking. This short video shows how “soupy” the 92% hydration dough was just after mixing.

These photos show the high hydration dough at the end of the bulk fermentation, the beginning of the final proof, and the end of the final proof the next morning. The low hydration dough had similar degrees of expansion at each stage, but it was more domed due to its stiffness.

To keep the process as simple and directly comparable as possible, we didn’t autolyse the flours or touch the dough again after mixing (no active gluten development) until it had finished bulk fermenting at about 75% expansion. The doughs were shaped into boules (no preshape) and refrigerated until the next morning when they were baked from cold.

Conclusions

A large hydration difference of ten percentage points had a noticeable impact on oven spring, score bloom, crumb openness and moisture, and crust thickness and color (surface flour). The high hydration dough also fermented a little faster, presumably because the microbes move around easier in a wetter dough.

Adding an autolyse and some active gluten development such as stretching and folding would likely make the breads more similar. Specifically, these steps would increase the gluten strength of both doughs, making the low hydration dough more airy and the high hydration dough taller.

The next time I make this no knead bread, I will probably use 87% hydration for an easy tallish, openish crumb bread.

520 x 0.87 = 452 grams water

No Knead Whole Wheat Sourdough (Hydration Comparison)

Here are two versions of a no knead whole wheat sourdough bread recipe. One uses less water, making a dough that is easy to shape and a bread that is great for toast or drip-prone sandwiches. The other uses more water, making a more challenging dough and yielding a flatter bread with a more moist, airy interior and thinner crust. You can follow either recipe or split the difference in water (452g) to find an excellent middle ground on the various bread characteristics.

Prep Time

20 minutes

Baking Time

35 minutes

Total Time

55 minutes

Ingredients

82% Hydration

• 325 grams hard red spring wheat berries or whole grain bread flour (2 1/2 cups flour)
• 195 grams white Sonora wheat berries or whole grain white sonora flour (1 1/2 cups flour)
• 425 grams water (1 3/4 cups)
• 100 grams sourdough starter (1/3 cup)
• 11 grams salt (2 tsp)

92% Hydration

• 325 grams hard red spring wheat berries or whole grain bread flour (2 1/2 cups flour)
• 195 grams white Sonora wheat berries or whole grain white sonora flour (1 1/2 cups flour)
• 480 grams water (2 cups)
• 100 grams sourdough starter (1/3 cup)
• 11 grams salt (2 tsp)

Instructions

Mixing and Bulk Fermentation

• Thoroughly mix all the ingredients in a bowl. If available, transfer the dough to a lighly oiled straight-walled bucket. Cover the dough and let it rise until it has expanded by about 75%. This is usually 4-8 hours depending on your starter strength, room temp, and which hydration you chose (dryer ferments slower).

Shape, Final Proof

• On a lightly floured countertop, shape the dough to suit the shape of your proofing basket and baking vessel, and place it seam-side up in your floured proofing basket.
• Cover and let rise again for 20-40 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight (8-16 hours). If your kitchen and dough are hot, you might want to refrigerate the dough immediately; or if very cold, refrigerate after closer to 1 hour. You can also bake the dough the same day if you proof it for 1-2 hours at room temperature. If the dough is warm, you also have the option to place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to stiffen it during the oven preheat.

Baking

• Flip the dough out of the proofing basket and onto a sheet of parchment paper or onto the base of your hot baking vessel. Score the dough, then cover and return the vessel to the oven.

• If your baking vessel is a ceramic cloche, bake at:
• 500°F for 20 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 10-15 minutes, lid off

• If your baking vessel is cast iron, bake at:
• 500°F for 20 minutes, lid on. At the 15-minute mark, place a baking sheet directly under the cast iron on the same shelf. This will prevent the base of the bread from burning.
• 450°F for 10-15 minutes, lid off

• When baking is complete, the bread should have an internal temperature over 205F and it should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf.
• Let the bread cool for at least a couple of hours before you slice it.

Notes

You can make many different wheat substitutions in this recipe. For example, rouge de bordeaux and hard white spring wheat would be tasty and aromatic, and it would likely hold the same amount of water. In contrast, making this dough with spelt and einkorn flours -- no doubt this would be a nutty delicious bread! -- would probably put your high hydration at 73% and your low hydration at 63%.