bread making...Lori? anyone?

[mint]

When you are at the stage when the dough has rested and doubled in size, is it all incredibly sticky and all attempts to handle it is impossible due to blobs of it sticking stubbornly to your palms and fingers?

When the instruction is to throw some flour on the dough, on the board (work top) and to flour your hands, how much flour is involved?

Fistfuls?  Shovelfuls?  Half a packet full?  How much?

I was following a recipe for making bread rolls this morning and the MESS I got into!  Haven't made a mess like it since I grew too old to try and fashion pairs of animals for my Noah's Ark.  So, does the recipe have too much liquid in the first place?  I checked the recipe and all seemed in order.  I watched the video and the man on it had nice, clean hands throughout?  Did someone do a lot of video editing?

All advice and suggestions gratefully received[:)]

[Judith-aka-Judith]

I use olive oil to lubricate me and the board .. it seems to work, mine today had too much water and it was as floppy as I don't know what ..sticking etc, but  I  kneeded with olive oil .. just been to see how it's getting on now .. yes, still a bit sloppy but it's risen OK, so it's going in now ...

[pip24]

Hi Mint . I have had the same problem. You said that you follwed a recipe and so did I and got the same problem as you . I have since learned that every time I get new flour it either needs more water or less water than the recipie says so i always go light on the water to start with. It doesnt seem to be the brand of flour because different batches of the same flour seem to require more or less water . I mix my white and brown flours to suit my taste so i am susceptible to a dodgy bake now and then but love the finished product.

[mint]

These were little, dinky white milk rolls.  Thought they would be good for dipping.

And they were golden and magnificent[:D]  I couldn't believe my eyes.  Also tasted lovely...  But, if you'd seen the dough sticking all over the place and I had to keep on throwing more and more flour at it...you'd be surprised as well[:D]

It was a good job nobody was in the kitchen with me....I felt such an idiot!

Thank you for the reassurance Judith and Pip.  I think I'd have another go again soon.  I have bought a lame à pain and felt very confident when I started[8-|]

Still, made a delicious apple cake yesterday and it was such a fine cake that I had to go across to my neighbours and give them a chunk of it.  The French always seem curious about my gateaux à la anglaise[:D]

[Lehaut]

The Saturday crunchy bread we make in a oven baked cast iron pot is totally hands on. We make the starter dough the day before (100gms white bread flour, pinch of yeast, enough water to make a creamy whisked mix, cover and leave). Next morning I add 450gm more flour, salt, olive oil and the rest of the packet of yeast and two drops of vinegar. I then turn all this over in the bowl with a silicone scoop. I then add a little bit of water at a time until the mix is of the right consistency, I never add the total recommended amount at once. As others say do it a bit at a time. Once the mix is right, I run my hand under the cold water tap and use this wet hand to squeeze and turn the dough. If the mix is the right consistency it barely sticks to my hand. Cover and leave to rise in warm oven. After half an hour, I wet my hand again and lift the dough up, wait till it stretches into the bowl and lay it down on itself, repeating several times to make layers in the dough. After another half hour, wet hands and repeat. We then go our for our morning walk and leave the dough in the hands of our youngest who heats up the cast iron pot in the oven to 250°C. He puts the dough in a proving basket, then turns it into the hot pot, pulls up the top of the dough with a fork like meringue, bake for 18 mins with lid on, the 25 mins lid off. We come back to the flat to the glorious smell of fresh bread and the sight of a well baked, very crispy, crunchy dome of bread. It sounds a bit fiddly, but its done for pleasure.

This is the video guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mehXzl7yHA

[Lori]

I have found that most recipes I have tried call for way too much liquid (water or otherwise).  So now, I don't follow the recipes.  I go by what the dough looks like - adding a little at a time to get the consistency I want.  I do find that different flours give different results, especially flours like Rye and Chickpea.

If I do end up with a dough that is too wet, yes I add a bit of flour a little at a time until the dough holds shape. 

I think it is a practice makes perfect kind of thing.

Glad yours turned out well Mint.