Glossary
Hydration
The percentage of water compared to flour weight in a dough, a key number that controls how soft, sticky, and open the finished crust turns out.
Hydration is simply the weight of water in a dough expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. A dough made with 650 grams of water and 1000 grams of flour is at 65 percent hydration. New York style doughs often sit in the 55 to 65 percent range because they need to hold their shape and fold, while Neapolitan doughs are frequently pushed to 65 percent or higher for a softer, more open crumb.
The number matters because water controls how the gluten network behaves during mixing, fermentation, and baking. More water makes a looser, stickier dough that traps more steam in the oven, which pushes the crumb open and the rim tall. Less water gives a firmer dough that is easier to handle but produces a denser, more uniform crumb once baked.
When choosing a hydration level, match it to your skill and your oven. High hydration dough is genuinely harder to shape and stretch without tearing, so beginners often get better, more consistent results starting lower and working up as their handling improves. A common mistake is copying a professional recipe's hydration without accounting for a different flour or a home oven that cannot bake fast enough to set a very wet crust before it turns soggy.