Filmenoi Dough Handbook — Bread Dough Reference | filmenoi.online
Plain wheat flour runs from 9 to 14 percent protein, and that single number decides what dough you can build.
Plain wheat flour is about 70-75 percent starch and 9-14 percent protein. The starch gives the loaf its bulk; the protein, when mixed with water, forms gluten — the network that traps gas and sets the crumb.
At 9 percent protein the network is weak. The dough accepts less water, tears easily and bakes to a tender, close crumb. This is the flour that behaves best at 55-65 percent hydration.
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At 14 percent protein the network is strong. It can carry 75-85 percent hydration without collapsing, and it produces the chewy structure associated with lean, high-water doughs. The same hydration percentage means something different at each end of the range.
Starch and protein are fixed by the grain, not by mixing. Kneading organises the protein that is there; it cannot add more. Choosing flour by its protein percentage is therefore the first decision in any formula, before water, salt or yeast are weighed.
Read the protein figure on the package first, then set hydration against it. The conversion table on the hydration page assumes you already know which of these two ends you are working with.
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