Dough is the name for the soft mixture which is produced when you mix flour with water. It is a kind of basic recipe.

Normally other ingredients are added, such as yeast, eggs, sugar and a fat, such as butter or suet.

The kind of dough you make decides whether you will end up with a cake, a suet pudding, a loaf of bread or a tortilla.

In most cases you add water very sparingly, or you will end up with the sticky mess shown in the main picture. It’s the beginner’s most common mistake. A dough should be easy to mould in the hands, but not be sticky.