What Is Dough Hydration? (And How to Get It Right)
January 15, 2026
Everything you need to know about water in bread dough.
Baking sourdough bread can be challenging at times, but these sourdough guides (and me!) are here to help. If you’re a new sourdough bread baker, this roundup of posts will help you learn to bake in your home oven, schedule baking for the weekend, and maintain your sourdough starter.
Start with the following posts to get you baking quickly!
From there, check out even more guides over at my comprehensive sourdough baking guides page for shaping techniques, baking tools, and more.
Everything you need to know about water in bread dough.
Simple techniques for a thinner, crispier crust.
The right way to take a short break from your sourdough starter.
And how to sort out its ideal hydration before you even mix.
A simple way to have starter ready for any discard recipe.
Scaling up your sourdough bread baking with a large bread oven.
Strengthening bread dough during bulk fermentation.
The not-so-secret ingredient that helps bread take on a plush texture
A baker’s secret ingredient for deeply browned, lofty yeasted bakes.
Navigating strong flour for delicious loaves.
Save flour and time by keeping a starter cool, not fridge-cold.
A simple poke for perfectly proofed sourdough bread.
Better baking through note-taking.
Learn the best way to add seeds, nuts, and other items to the outside of your bread.
Learn to freshly mill flour at home for baking flavorful and aromatic bread.
My advice on baking in the winter: how to keep your starter vigorous, dough warm, and prevent underproofing.
My advice on baking in the summer: how to keep your starter healthy, dough cool, and prevent over-proofing.
A look at how I currently feed (refresh) my sourdough starter for maximum strength and flavor.
Learn how the best way to store flour in your kitchen to keep it fresh for longer.
Using a dedicated proofer for stronger fermentation.
How to maintain a smaller sourdough starter to reduce discard waste.
A roundup of methods to keep your bread fresh for longer.
How to effectively steam your bread dough while baking.
Keep your starter healthy even when you’re not using it.
Temperature control equals great bread.
An example schedule on how to maintain your starter during the week and bake bread on the weekend.