March 3, 2022 - 1:47pm
Protein content, w number and hydration calculation
Apologies if this has been discussed but I can't find a similar post after searching.
I'm wondering if there's a calculation to work out how much hydration various flours can take - e.g. I've been making a focaccia dough at 85% hydration using a manitoba flour that is 13.5% protein, but I've found a W320 bread flour at 12% protein and would like to try using it.
If the protein is reduced from 13.5% to 12% do I need to reduce the hydration because the flour will be less able to absorb water? Does the fact it is W320 make a difference? I'm wondering if there is a general calculation to use like there is for hydration and BF times/temperature.
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I don't know if there is a formula (certainly not a precise one, maybe there could be some kind of rule of thumb?), but basically you can adjust the water to the consistency of the dough that you want. Use less water at first and see what you get, then add more if needed.
There is no such formula. You have to determine the amount of water experimentally, but adding it to flour and touching it and seeing how it behaves during fermentation and baking.
Any flour can make breads with different kinds of crumb: tight and dense, with low hydration (45-50% as in Montreal bagels) or very moist and open with extremely high hydration levels, up to 110-130% as in certain focaccias.
The same manitoba flour with 13.5% protein will have W350 one year and W600 in another year, depending on growth conditions, weather, etc. There is no standard strength required from manitoba flour or guaranteed by the millers. Higher W generally means that dough would require more kneading and maybe more yeast, not necessarily more water.
I bake with manitoba all the time: I am in Canada, all our flours are 'manitoba', even all-purpose flours with 11% protein.
12% protein and W320 is a very strong flour equal to manitoba (manitoba's strength is 350 and higher). It would take the same amount of water as your manitoba, for sure.
That's really helpful and informative, thanks!