Need help with wet sticky dough!!
Hello all!
I tried baking using the Tangzhong method for the first time and according to King Arthur's website, i followed the instructions to convert a basic recipe to one using tang zhong. So i increased my hydration level to 75% + added tang zhong in it.
Ended up, my dough was pretty sticky even after kneading but i left it to proof anyway. After proofing, it was too sticky to handle so i added alot more flour as i tried kneading with my spatula. (otherwise it'll stick to my hands). I didn't measure how much flour i added but im guessing about 5-6 tbsp. I was afraid of adding too much so i stopped once i could get it to form a ball. And i just baked it after about 20mins more of proofing in the pan.
The result was a really nice soft loaf.
But my question is, should i adjust this recipe back to my original hydration level + tang zhong instead of increasing it to 75%, since the sticky dough was really hard to work with?
Because based on what i see for japanese milk breads, the loaf aren't that sticky :/
Please help this novice here!! Thanks alot in advance!! :))
This seems like a lot for a novice. Have you tried regular bread first? Practice first on the easy stuff then go wild.
would be my advice. So subtract the flour and water for your roux from your dough's flour and water amounts.
Then, when you mix the roux with the remaining flour and water for the autolyse (or the remaining flour, water, salt, levener, and whatever if you're not autolysing) adjust the hydration to get the dough to feel right.
One tip, doing an autolyse will help a higher hydration dough settle down and smooth out and get to the cohesive tacky-instead-of-sticky stage sooner. It makes working with the dough more pleasant. But I did find that even with an autolyse the addition of the roux to the process made my dough stickier and it took longer (more kneading than usual) for the gluten to develop properly.