In bread and pastry making, hydration refers to the ratio of liquid to flour. Higher hydration dough tends to be:

• A. More sticky and extensible.
• B. Firmer and easier to roll.
• C. Drier and crumbly.
• D. Less prone to sticking but tougher to stretch.

Answer: (A)

Hydration is the amount of water relative to flour in a dough. Water acts as a plasticizer for gluten, so when there’s more water, the dough becomes looser and more extensible. This higher-water dough also tends to be stickier to the touch, because the surface is wetter and it doesn’t hold its shape as rigidly. That combination—stickiness plus the ability to stretch more before tearing—explains why the description “more sticky and extensible” is the best fit. The other options describe firmer, drier, or less sticky dough, which happens with lower hydration.