Can you hydrate flour more by adding incremental amounts amounts of water to the flour as it is mixing as opposed to combining all the flour and water together before mixing ?
and Nick, if you can answer this one, I’ll know you are an intellectual genius !!
Otis
Otis,
Many years ago when I worked for a decent sized midwest chain (Happy Joes), that’s exactly how we mixed the dough. Dry mix for two minutes (Flour, yeast, shortening, and other dry ingredients), add 1/3 of the water mix for another two minutes, add another 1/3 of the water mix for another two minutes, add the final 1/3 of the water and mix for 4 minutes. I am not sure why they did it this way as now that I own my own store, I follow Tom’s dough mixing procedure.
This sounds INCREDIBLY odd. 2 minutes to mix flour, yeast and dry ingredients? That’s an awful long time to mix dry stuff. Tom has said repeatedly that you don’t want to add the fat until the end due to not hydrating the flour properly. In addition, I’ve found that adding water to a dough after it’s been mixed can be very difficult to fully incorporate. I believe it would also put more stress on the mixer (mixing 40% hydration dough vs 50-60% hydration).
This is exactly why I do it Tom’s way now that I own my own store.
I remember Tom talking about procedures that the large, 1000 pound + batches, bakeries do to get more bulk through hydration in their batches. For us, the difference may be insignificant.
Most people may not want maximum hydration in their dough.
I maxed out on the hydration this morning, and it tosses pretty impressively, one spin and it opens all the way up.
Tricky, and a show.
Otis
Otis you add water to flour or flour to water!!?
Tom do give great advises. but who is Tom ?
I do it either way, cannot verify a difference there.
…Tom is Tom Lehmann, The Dough Doctor, from the American Institute of Bakers in Manhatten Kansas.
knows more about different pizza doughs than anybody,
Otis
You would have to be joking or either drinking too much 
Dave
one would think, I enjoy both…
I think Nick is intellectual and he is not mixing his dough now, so it would be an intellectual answer as opposed to experiencial. I think that may be changing though
Otis
I’ll need to “phone a friend” on that one, for sure. I can’t even make up an answer or recall anything I’ve read anywhere.
You’ll have to ask Cliff Clavin if Tom doesn’t peek in on this thread. "Of course, when the British ruled the Punjab . . . "
Nick,
At least I thought you would make up something to make it interesting. It may even be enlightening also !
Otis