✨ Bake Club! 🍞 How to Knead Sticky Dough


Hey, Reader!

Have you ever tried mixing bread dough that was a giant sticky mess all over your hands & counter?

🍞 I used to add more and more flour in an attempt to counteract the stickiness. BUT adding more flour actually made my bread dense, dry, and heavy.

πŸ₯– The truth is, dough needs to feel a little sticky to bake up with that classic open, airy interior.

5 Tips for Sticky Dough

  1. 😴 Let the dough rest (autolyse)
  2. 🌾 Add just a liiiiiitle flour on the counter
  3. πŸ™Œ Wet your hands with cold water
  4. πŸ”ͺ Use a bench scraper
  5. πŸ₯£ Stretch and Fold > Kneading

I share the full breakdown (including the science behind why dough needs to feel a little sticky, and how to troubleshoot really sticky dough) in my new YouTube video!

My Baking Tools for Sticky Dough

  • ​Flexible Bench Scraper - I use this for kneading sticky dough inside the mixing bowl for the first minute to avoid a big mess on my counter.
  • ​Silicone Mat - This is a great alternative to kneading dough on a counter, aka less scrubbing & scraping dough off!
  • Small Bowl with Cold Water - It sounds counterintuitive, but I swear, wet hands make dough stick wayyy less than dry or floured hands!
  • ​Danish Dough Whisk - While not essential, I find it easier to mix sticky dough with this instead of a spatula or spoon.

Now Let's Bake!

Let's turn our mini bake club lesson into something you can eat!

Click a link above or a photo below to go to my recipe on the blog!

​Find your next rustic bake​

Humbly Homemade

I'm the full-time recipe developer and food photographer behind Humbly Homemade. Inspired by my childhood growing up in Germany, I share recipes of delicious rustic bakes from scratch with an elevated European twist.

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