Water and Flavor

In general, we don’t consider water to be an ingredient that imparts flavor to our breads, and in a technical sense it probably doesn’t. Nevertheless, water does have an important impact on flavor. It can, I believe, unlock the potential of the flour to provide flavor. It’s challenging to bring out the finest flavors in breads that are either very wet or very dry. With very wet doughs, the challenge is to ensure a full bake without the crust becoming either too dark or too thick—the great amount of internal moisture in doughs of this type often results in softening of the crust once the bread has cooled. Dry doughs present their own challenge: bringing out the intrinsic flavor potential of the flours used. By this I mean that in drier environments, the flour can barely “breathe.” Sometimes the simple addition of one or two further percentages of hydration can make all the difference between a sluggish dough that has limited flavor development and one that expands to its fullest flavor potential.