Flour, Water and Rest: Working with Wheat Dough

Hydration sets the whole family

Plain wheat flour and water make one dough, not many. A stiff dough at about 50 percent water holds a pleat and keeps its shape in a steamer: this is the dough for dumpling wrappers and firm noodles. At 60 to 65 percent it becomes soft, tacky and easy to roll, which is what you want for mantou, flower rolls and most flatbreads. The number is simply water weight divided by flour weight.

Flour also varies. A humid kitchen, a different brand, or wholemeal flour can shift the amount of water you need by 20 ml in a 500 g batch. Add the last quarter of the water gradually, and judge by feel: the dough should come together into a shaggy ball that leaves the bowl clean but still clings slightly to a fingertip.

• 50-52% hydration: dumpling wrappers, shumai skins, hand-cut noodles.
• 58-62% hydration: steamed buns, flower rolls, soft flatbreads.
• 70-80% hydration: no-knead breads and batters you pour rather than knead.
• Salt at roughly 2% of flour weight tightens the dough and slows fermentation a little.

Kneading, then stopping

Kneading aligns gluten and distributes water; it does not create either. Five to eight minutes of firm folding is enough for a bun dough. You are looking for a smooth surface that springs back slowly when pressed, and a piece that stretches a little before tearing. If it tears instantly and looks dry, rest it covered for ten minutes and come back rather than adding more flour, which only makes the finished bun dense.

• A 15-20 minute covered rest after mixing lets flour hydrate without any work from you.
• Dust the bench sparingly; a tablespoon of flour worked in at shaping time is a tablespoon too much.
• For laminated flatbreads, rest again after rolling so the layers relax and do not shrink back.

Cold, frozen and make-ahead dough

Plain lean dough keeps overnight in the fridge, where it firms up and becomes easier to shape. Let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes before rolling. Shaped uncooked dumplings freeze well on a tray; once solid, bag them and cook from frozen with two extra minutes in the pan or steamer. Doughs containing yeast are less forgiving of long cold storage, so follow the specific recipe rather than this general rule.

Questions that come up