Why do baking recipes often tell you to "make a well" in flour before adding wet ingredients?
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.