- 700g Matthews Cotswold Strong White Flour
- 476g water – 68% hydration
- 14g salt
- 12g yeast
I almost never make a loaf of bread with just white flour, but I wanted to try that for today’s loaf. I’ve done 70% hydration white flour loaves before, and wanted to see how this turned out.
After about 12 minutes in the Ankarsrum, the dough was fairly dense yet stretchy, so I put it in a container to bulk ferment. After about 40 minutes (kitchen 24ยบ) the dough was nearly perfect: stretchy, not sticky. I put it in my pan for second rise. After about 30 minutes, it went in the oven.
Lower hydration breads are easier to score, and I tend to get better oven spring with lower hydrations. I’m going to dial down my water usage for a few loaves. Of course, it depends on the type of flour. My previous loaf at 66% could probably have benefitted from higher hydration, though this loaf at 73% might have been just about right.
The result is delicious: chewy, with plenty of gluten development. While I prefer the flavor of loaves with some wholemeal flour, this is a fine hunk of bread.
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