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. Developed strands of gluten help hold the bread together as it bakes, and contributes to a strong upward rise (called oven spring) rather than spread during baking.
Kneading is a more vigorous method than the stretch and fold technique. It involves folding, pushing, and working the dough, usually for 15 minutes or more, until the gluten strengthens, the dough becomes smooth, and if you poke it, will return to its original form.
Without scoring, the steam will find its own weak point and burst through the crust as it hardens, this creates unwanted bulges and blowouts in your bread. The goal of scoring is to guide the way dough rises in the oven in a way that helps it maintain its shape and allows it to take full advantage of oven spring.
Too little folding can result in weak dough. But too much folding can produce excessive tension and compressive forces. An over-folded dough might have a tighter crumb as the layers of alveoli push against each other and coalesce. In the worst case, excessive folding might cause a dough to tear under too much tension.
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.
Why stretch and fold? Folding helps add strength to bread dough through a very simple series of actions: stretch the dough out and over itself. This act of stretching and folding, which takes just a few moments, helps develop the gluten network in the dough. Each fold has a significant impact on dough strength.
How many times should you coil fold or stretch and fold? Generally 4 to 6 sets of stretch and folds should be sufficient (4 folds in each set). Similarly, 4 to 6 coil folds should be enough to develop the gluten in a higher hydration dough.
Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.
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.
If you don't score your loaf, it will still expand, but in a jagged pattern. Or it will find a less desirable weak point: This crack along the side of my loaf is common in breads baked in a bread pan BECAUSE the dough exploits a weak point along the side created by the shaping process.
If: The dough pops back out quickly – This means its under-proofed. The dough stays where it is – This means its over-proofed. The dough pops back out slowly and leaves a slight indentation – Perfect, your dough is ready!
The crumb structure of an under proofed loaf will be tight and gummy. Because it was not given enough time to develop and trap CO2 gasses, the crumb structure will be very dense, with uneven air bubbles.
This is highly dependent on the dough (the flour itself and the hydration) you're working with and your effectiveness in the technique, but a good rule for me is somewhere around 3-6 minutes to yield a dough that usually requires 1-3 sets of stretch and folds during bulk to finish strengthening.
First, you always want to let the dough rest between folds. The most typical rest time is 30 minutes between folds. This lets the gluten relax and the next fold is more effective.
The slap and fold technique is a method of building strength in high hydration doughs. Doughs with a very high percentage of water are notoriously sticky and difficult to work with, but the slap and fold technique uses that stickiness to its advantage to build gluten strength in the dough.
Dough that is over-fermented will start to spread once scored and look bubbly/weak. You'll notice it falling in a bit or a lot. Notice how the whole loaf is collapsing. If you notice your dough is over-fermented be sure to score very shallow and use a minimum of scoring slashes.
The dough will rise slowly overnight or up to 24 hours. Allowing the dough to remain longer in the refrigerator isn't beneficial, as an extended time in the refrigerator will lead to off flavors and diminished dough strength.
If the dough is under proofed, the indentation springs back really fast and does not stay. If the dough is over proofed, the indentation stays, the surface is sticky, and the structure may collapse.
Overproofed sourdough dough loses all structure, so it's stretchy and slack when turned onto a work surface. The dough is also stickier than usual due to the lack of remaining gluten structure.
The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor.
Some types of crumb include: fool's crumb (a mix of very tight and big holes), honeycomb or lacy (evenly spaced and moderately open), and wild (a mix of moderate and very large holes).
Stretch and folds are completed in sets. The first set is usually done about 30 minutes into the bulk rise. Then, you'll complete up to 4 additional sets spaced about 15 minutes to 1 hour apart, depending on the dough's flexibility and your own personal baking schedule.
When the bulk fermentation goes too long — often when the dough more than doubles or triples in volume — the dough can over ferment. You know the dough has over fermented if, when you turn it out to shape it, it is very slack — if it's like a wet puddle — and very sticky and lacking any strength and elasticity.
If dough hydration is too high, the dough will be too slack to hold its shape. Try adding a little more flour or a little less liquid to the dough.