Question

what would happen if you forgot to add water or milk to a biscuit or bread dough recipe?
the dough would rise more quickly, resulting in fluffier biscuits or bread.
the dough would be too dry and crumbly, making it difficult to form or knead.
the dough would become too sticky and hard to handle, due to an excess of other ingredients.
the dough would still rise and bake normally, but the texture would be slightly denser.

Explanation:

Water or milk is a crucial liquid ingredient in dough. It hydrates the flour (and other dry ingredients) to form gluten (in case of wheat flour) and gives the dough its structure. Without water or milk, there is no liquid to bind the dry ingredients properly. So, the dough would lack moisture. A dry dough would be crumbly as there is not enough liquid to hold the particles together. This makes it hard to form into a proper dough shape (like a ball) or knead (as kneading requires some elasticity which comes from the gluten developed when flour is hydrated).

The first option is wrong because dough rising is mainly due to yeast (in bread, through fermentation) or leavening agents (like baking powder in biscuits) reacting. But without proper dough formation (due to lack of liquid), the environment for these reactions (even if they occur) won't be ideal for proper rising. Also, fluffiness is related to a well - formed dough structure which needs liquid. The third option is incorrect because without the liquid, there is no excess of other ingredients in a "sticky" sense (sticky dough comes when there is too much liquid relative to dry ingredients). The fourth option is wrong because without proper dough formation (due to lack of liquid), normal rising (which depends on a proper dough matrix for gas to be trapped) and baking (which needs a dough that can hold its shape in the oven) won't occur.

Answer:

The dough would be too dry and crumbly, making it difficult to form or knead.