Hand Kneading = Anger

[osloslosher]

I tried to make some dough today and it almost ended in hand to hand combat with my mixing bowl as I tried to get the dough to unstick from my hand.  The dough was far too sticky for hand mixing and after about 30 minutes of kneading by hand it never felt like it was going to be able to form a ball.  Thats when the dough kung fu began.  My recipe was this:

3 cups flour
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oil

At first the dough was way two runny so I added more flour... and then it was all down hill.  The dough just got stickier and stickier.

Now I'll start by admiting to these two things. 1.) I am amatuer at best when it comes to dough making. 2.) I only have the most basic of kitchen utensils at the moment.  I beleive this is about a 65% hydration dough which seems like the desired level.  Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for a guy that doesn't have a mixer at the moment? 

[bioubiou]

Hi,

Three cups of flour weigh about 375 grams, and two cups of water, 500 grams. So you tried to make a 133% hydration dough ! Try again using just one cup of water... or even better: weigh your ingredients using an electronic scale.

Beru

[scott123]

Alex, it's one thing for a home chef to be measuring flour and water by volume, but if you have professional aspirations, you need a digital scale- yesterday.

[pizzaboyfan]

Two more tips.
If you get to the point you are working with proper hydration, and the dough is still sticky/tacky , keep your fingers wet and the dough won't stick to you.
When it's time to clean up, use cold water to clean the bowl, and utensils,  not hot.

[The Dough Doctor]

Sure;
You must be a "GLUTEN" for punishment to try to mix a dough for 30-minutes by hand. Just stir it together using a wooden spoon. Total mixing time about 90-seconds. Cover, allow to rise for 2-hours, turn out of the bowl onto a floured table top and fold several times until you can handle the dough with relative ease, then oil the bowl and place the dough back into it to continue fermenting for another 3 to 3-hours, then turn the dough out of the bowl and divide into whatever size pieces you need to make your pizza skins with. Form into balls, cover with a piece of plastic and allow to rise for about 30 to 45-minutes, then open into pizza skins, dress and bake as you wish.
I teach this process to people all the time and it really works well as a simple way to make dough using biochemical gluten development. Once you have this mastered, you can begin experimenting with any of the many other ways to make dough by hand.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[osloslosher]

Thanks guys.  A rookie mistake measuring by volume.  I remade the dough yesterday with the new measurements and techniques you guys suggested and it worked out very well.  I'm definetly going to by an electric scale, but I live in rural Taiwan and I have to travel pretty far by bus to get to a place that sells "fancy things" like electronic scales.  However after the dough fiasco it's on my to do list.  Thanks again.

[JJP]

Thanks for the laugh... hand to hand combat with the mixing bow.... Ive had that fight before!!

Try amazon.com for a digital scale if you can its a great inexpensive tool and makes life soo much better!

[jimbodeluxe]

I'm definetly going to by an electric scale, but I live in rural Taiwan and I have to travel pretty far by bus to get to a place that sells "fancy things" like electronic scales.  However after the dough fiasco it's on my to do list.  Thanks again.

It is ironic. I live in New York and I bought my scale that was made in Taiwan around the corner from my apartment.

Yes, keeping your hands wet when working the dough is a good technique but, invariably, some dough will be sticking at the end of a session. I found the best way to clean up hands is to use a "dry wash" -- flour your doughy hands and rub them together over your trash can; the dough will rub right off.

[finfan]

I just recently bought a nice digital scale (capacity 1000g.) from Harbor Freight Tools for under $12. Cant beat the price and I'm sure they ship from their web site.

[c0mpl3x]

try that recipe with 1 1/4c water