Surprised by how much humidity affects bread dough

I always knew humidity was a factor but last Tuesday I measured it exactly for the first time. My kitchen was at 70% humidity and my dough was sticky and overproofed by 45 minutes compared to my usual recipe. Turns out high humidity adds enough water from the air to change the whole hydration balance. Has anyone else noticed their bread acting different on rainy days?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthewking3d ago

Humidity has barely any effect if you adjust your water amount like a normal person.

ray6133d ago

Last Tuesday I had 68% humidity and my dough was a sticky mess 30 minutes early. Joseph_bailey said to just adjust water, but when it's humid enough the air literally adds water as you mix. So unless you've got a dehumidifier running in your kitchen, high humidity days just mess with timing no matter what you do.

joseph_bailey3d ago

Adjust your water amount like a normal person" - yeah well, my "normal person" move was forgetting the dough existed while I watched a thunderstorm roll in.