Sticky Dough
Characteristics
Sticky mass, slack, no structure.
Sticky dough may lead to weak gluten development that can result in poor volume of the final product and fragile dough easy to tear when stretching it.
Causes
- Too much water in the dough.
- Flour with a low protein content and high hydration.
- Hydration is higher than 70% (using the right flour) and the water is added all at once instead of gradually.
- Oil added at the beginning of the mixing process.
- Not enough mixing time.
How To Fix It:
- Decrease the amount of water in the recipe.
- Use adequate flour for high hydrated doughs (higher protein content).
- Add 80% of the recipe total water and gradually the remaining.
- Add the oil 5 to 7 minutes before the end of the mixing process, last step.
- Mix the dough for a minimum of 12 minutes when using a mixer or use the fold technique until a strong gluten structure is created.
Need Troubleshooting Help?
Ask Felice Colucci, Grande’s Culinary Expert
Felice Colucci is a self-described pizza fanatic from Puglia, Italy. At 27, he became a professional baker and one the youngest instructors at Pizza University. Since then, he has honed his craft, getting into the finer details of how ingredients work together; especially dough and cheese.
