Bread Hydration Isn't One-Size-Fits-All

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Hydration — the ratio of water to flour by weight — determines how open and chewy a bread's crumb turns out: a low-hydration dough (around 60%) bakes up dense and tight, like a sandwich loaf, while a high-hydration dough (75%+) produces the big, irregular holes of a rustic sourdough or ciabatta. Flour brands and even humidity on a given day absorb water differently, which is why bakers adjust the water in a recipe by feel rather than treating the number as fixed — a dough that's supposed to be tacky but not stick to a clean finger is a better guide than a rigid gram count.