My foray into bread baking came about because my wife is Portuguese (we met while I was stationed in Portugal). She is not a fan of American sliced bread. I set to task to try to replicate a Portuguese bread called Pão de agua. Crunchy on the outside and chewy inside. A lot of testing laid ahead of me as there were no recipes online. I settled on an 80% hydration, 2% salt, 1% yeast & King Arthur Bread Flour. I have found that adding gluten flour (3 - 3 1/2%) gives the bread a better structure. After a gluten forming mix I let it rest for 20 minutes then fold in bowl until it becomes loose then I remove the entire loaf and let gravity stretch it in all directions, folding and repeating 3 or 4 times. I do this 3 times then let the bread rise for 1 hour. Then I divide the bread, roll it in flour and place in shallow silicone bread pans, let rise for 1 hour and place in a 430 degree oven for 25 minutes. The results are good. I have tried 75%, 78%, 82% and 85% hydration. There is really no noticeable difference from 78 - 82%.

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