Wet dough or stiff dough for bread?

there is a fine line here. When I make bread, depending on the recipe, I generally need to add flour to a liquidy mixture. When I do add, I knead well between additions because the flour needs time to incorporate and absorb liquid. Use a light hand. If your recipe says add 3-4 cups of flour, add 1 cup full at a time. Even the humidity(or lack of it) will have an effect on how much flour you will need. when your dough is about right, you will notice that more of it is in the bowl and your hands sort of self clean. Lots of kneading is a must so be patient. If your dough is too stiff, in my experience, it rises poorly, so softer is better. Keep trying. Each time you make bread, you will get better at it. The bread dough that I made that didn't turn out real well found its way into fried bread dough with powdered sugar on it. the bread I screwed up usually was eaten as french toast, with no one the wiser! My kids ate lots of mistakes and never knew it!

In real life baking it depends on what you're trying to create...

A slow rise is great for developing flavor and complexity, but not all breads require that.

A still dough is more effort to knead, but we're only talking ten or fifteen minutes. And, with a bit of flour and a bench scraper, it's no big deal.

I've baked thousands of loaves. The key is to get your hands into the flour and practice. Your kitchen isn't the same as mine, so your ideal scenario won't be the same as mine. Give it a go... get yourself immersed in the beauty of bread making and most of all, have some fun with it.

Wet Dough