Hydration is a range, not a number

Recipes quote hydration as a single figure — 72 percent, 75 percent, occasionally something heroic. That number means less than it appears to.

Flour absorbs differently

Hydration is water weight divided by flour weight, which is arithmetic and cannot be argued with. The problem is on the other side of the equation: two flours of the same protein content can absorb noticeably different amounts of water depending on the wheat, the milling and how long the bag has been open.

A dough that is slack at 70 percent with one flour can be stiff at the same figure with another. The recipe is not wrong; the number simply does not carry the meaning it is being asked to carry.

Work to the dough, not the percentage

The practical answer is to mix to a feel and record the number afterwards for your own reference. What you are looking for after a full mix is a dough that holds together, clears the bowl, and stretches without tearing when pulled gently.

If it tears immediately, it is too stiff. If it spreads flat and refuses to hold any shape, it is too wet for your handling ability at that moment — which is a different statement from "too wet for bread".

Higher is not better

High-hydration dough produces a more open crumb, but only if it is handled competently. Before that point it produces flat, gummy loaves and a lot of frustration. Most bakers would improve faster by dropping five percentage points and focusing on fermentation and shaping.

A workable starting point

Sixty-five to seventy percent is forgiving, produces a recognisable loaf, and leaves enough slack in the process to absorb mistakes. Move up once the same dough gives the same result three times running.