How much water to use

Is there by chance a “rule of thumb” concerning how much less water to use when the dough is seemingly too wet to handle, stretch, fold, etc. ?

Is it better to ad more flour and keep the original amount of water or decrease the water keeping th flour amount the same ?

Any thoughts would be helpful…Thanks

Since all ingredients are in relation to the flour its best to keep the flour constant and alter the water. If you change the flour you’ll throw the rest of the ingredients off.

Thanks for the suggestion

I have reduced the water in the sourdough rye recipe and that has helped

Just did not know if there is “ guideline” in how much to reduce the water or is it something I need to experiment with to find what works?

Thanks again

A good rule to follow is to start off with low hydration and slowly add in water till it feels ok to you and that comes with practice.

When I autolyse a dough I always do so with just enough water that all the flour is hydrated but not with all the water for the final dough. I prefer a low hydration, cool, long autolyse for your typical wheat flour sourdough. Then when I add the starter + salt i’ll also add enough extra water which helps to incorporate them and brings the dough to the hydration i’m after. It also helps in not over doing it and allowing for these small alterations recipes needs when it comes to water especially.

Of course there is a range for the hydration that is good for the dough you’re working on and you have to find the balance between reaching that upper limit but staying within your skill level. Then with subsequent bakes you can slowly work your way up till you can handle these higher hydration doughs.

And last but not least it’s not about going as high hydration as possible if that’s not what you’re after. If you prefer a lower hydration dough then there’s no point in doing otherwise.

Thanks gain for this suggestions