Kneading speeds up the process and is more suitable when you don't have hours of time to apply folds. Usual knead times are 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the process, and then an hour or two for the rising.
Stretching and folding is what replaces kneading in many sourdough recipes. Stretching and folding helps activate the gluten in wheat flour, making it easier to work with and shape. If you skip stretching and folding, chances are you will end up with soggy dough that doesn't hold its shape before or during baking.
If the dough isn't mixed or kneaded to full development (e.g., full windowpane), adding in sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation will help continue its progress toward a stronger, more cohesive dough that's able to trap gas and hold its shape all the way to bake time.
By skipping stretching and folding, chances are you'll end up with soggy dough that doesn't hold its shape before or during baking.
Knead dough by hand for 15-20 minutes: Knead 5-10 minutes at a time, taking breaks in between. Avoid using a mixer for the kneading process, which can heat up the dough too much and may not activate the gluten in the flour effectively. If using a mixer, always knead the last five minutes by hand.
Once the gluten network has formed, over handling the dough can cause this network to break down. You really only need to handle sourdough minimally. Each set of stretch and folds should consist of 4 stretches and folds. You should aim to do around 4 to 6 sets, but you may need less depending on the dough strength.
Yes. After the first rise, you can knead the dough lightly to remove some gas that causes air bubbles. This step is ideal if you want your dough to be flat and dense or if you want bread with a close crumb, like sourdough.
A coil fold is a type of strengthening action used to help develop gluten in the dough during the bulk fermentation stage. It's similar to a stretch and fold in that it should be performed on the dough without removing it from its proofing container.
For low hydration doughs (dry, stiffer dough), the gluten will need more time to relax, about 30 minutes to 1 hr. Otherwise it won't stretch properly.
If you try to perform another set too soon, you'll find the dough is too tight. It'll be hard to stretch and may even tear. For most doughs, I find spacing out each set by 30 minutes (with the first set happening 30 minutes after the beginning of bulk fermentation) to be just right.
The structure of gluten plays a massive part in how your bread is formed and the gas production it creates is what develops the air pockets in bread, allowing it to rise. If your dough is not kneaded enough, the right amount of gas will not be released and it will result in a very dense bread with little moisture.
The method uses a long rise instead of kneading to align the dough's gluten molecules with each other so as to produce a strong, elastic network, resulting in long, sticky strands. The automatic alignment is possible because of the wetness of the dough, which makes the molecules more mobile.
These gases get trapped inside the dough buy the mesh the gluten makes. This is what causes your bread to be airy and fluffy. This mesh is formed by kneading the dough. If you do not knead a dough enough you do not give your bread a chance as the gluten did not have enough time to build that mesh.
Excessive dough hydration can make the slap and fold process a little messier and sometimes even very difficult. If your dough is highly hydrated, it can help to split mixing up into stages or even do a bassinage type mix, slowly adding water through the mix to avoid a very sloppy dough in the beginning.
❓Recipe FAQs
Yes! In fact allowing dough to rise overnight or for extended time will give you even more flavor. Just cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. If left on the counter for a longer period it will become over proofed.
Choose The Right Flour
Choosing the right flour is critical to improving your sourdough oven spring. Whole wheat and wholegrain flours simply will not give you the huge expansion you're looking for. To achieve maximum oven spring, white bread flour is best. Choose a flour with a high protein content.
Mixing baking soda into the dough at the shaping stage (just after the bulk ferment) will give sourdough bread an extra boost and help it become lighter and more airy.
A symmetrical fold is one in which the axial plane is vertical. An asymmetrical fold is one in which the axial plane is inclined. An overturned fold, or overfold, has the axial plane inclined to such an extent that the strata on one limb are overturned. A recumbent fold has an essentially horizontal axial plane.
There are three basic types of folds (1) anticlines, (2) synclines and (3) monoclines.
Two common types of folds are the similar and parallel folds. In similar folds the bedding shape remains the same from bed to bed whereas in parallel folds the bedding thickness remains unaltered from bed to bed.
The timing for proofing sourdough can be stretched from 4 hours to even a few days! The smaller the amount of sourdough starter in the dough, and the colder the temperature, the longer the dough is able to ferment for.
It jumpstarts gluten development without kneading. Strong gluten = good bread. For timing, autolyse can range anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour or more depending on the type of bread you're making and your own personal baking schedule. A minimum of 30 minutes works best for this recipe.
After kneading the dough for several minutes, press it with your finger. If the indentation stays, the dough still needs more work. If it springs back to its original shape, your dough is ready to rest.