Hydration 62% vs 70% in a home oven – test plan
Is a drier dough better in an oven that tops out at 250–275 °C? The plan for our test of 62, 66 and 70 % hydration, and what it is set up to measure.
Updated 13 september 2026
Results Planned
The experiment is planned. We will publish the measurements as soon as the runs are done — even if they contradict what we expected.
Method
Status: planned. This test has not been done yet. This page describes the set-up so that the method can be scrutinised before any results exist. Figures will be added here once the runs have been done and repeated – even if they contradict the hypothesis.
The question
Higher hydration often gives a more open rim in a hot pizza oven. But in a home oven the bake takes several minutes, and a wet dough may not be done before the rim dries out. So is it better to cut the water?
What we already know
Established baking science: more water means more steam and a more open crumb, but it needs more heat to bake through. The house method uses 65 % in a pizza oven. Many home bakers recommend lower hydration for an ordinary oven – that is the claim this test is designed to check.
Hypothesis
Below roughly 300 °C (570 °F), 62 % gives a more evenly baked pizza than 70 %, while the difference in rim height is small.
How the test will be run
Three doughs are mixed on the same day with the same flour, salt and yeast, and only the water varies. All are cold-fermented for the same time and stretched to the same diameter with the same toppings. The steel is preheated for the same time before every pizza, and its surface temperature is taken with an infrared thermometer before each launch.
Limitations
One oven and one flour. The result applies to that combination – other ovens and flours may behave differently.
Background: hydration, dough for 250 °C and how we test. All tests are listed under Tested.
