Dough is too sticky

Ask yourself

• What is the dough's hydration percentage?
• Has the dough finished bulk fermentation, or is it under-developed?

Likely causes

1. #1

   Hydration too high for the flour's strength or your handling skill

   Strongly supported

   Higher-hydration doughs are genuinely stickier to handle and require technique (wet hands, bench flour) rather than more flour worked in.

2. #2

   Under-developed gluten structure

   Generally accepted

   Insufficient kneading or fermentation time leaves the dough without enough structure to hold its shape, which reads as stickiness.

Rescue it now

Use wet hands or a little oil rather than added flour, which changes the dough's ratios; a bench scraper helps handle sticky dough without overworking it

Prevent it next time

Match hydration to your flour's strength and your comfort handling wetter doughs; build in an autolyse or stretch-and-fold session

Related

Related problems at this stage