Why do baking recipes often tell you to "make a well" in flour before adding wet ingredients? Many instructions for baking bread, cakes and other yummy things specify that you should &quot;make a well&quot; before adding more ingredients. One example is here
What's the reasoning behind this?
I've found some sources say that it helps ingredients mix together, but I don't see how that could be. I also read it helps avoid ingredients sticking to the side of the bowl, which I'd say is unavoidable when you're mixing up a dough regardless of how nicely shaped your well is.
I understand that some baking is more about technique than anything, but is this step really adding any benefit?
You don't need a bowl to make bread dough. You can make it on your kneading surface, by mounding up the flour and adding water. Of course, the water will just run off... unless you make a well in the flour to hold it until it's mixed in.
There is no good reason to &quot;make a well&quot; in flour in a bowl.