Autolyse and fermentolyse

How to do it

Use water warm enough that the finished dough lands at your target temperature: the water temperature calculator works it out. Then start bulk fermentation.

1. Mix the flour with most of the water, holding back about 25 to 50 g to help work in the starter and salt later.
2. Cover and rest 20 to 60 minutes at room temperature.
3. Add the starter, then the salt with the reserved water, pinching and folding until fully mixed.

What it does

Water reaches every particle of flour and gluten begins to form on its own. Meanwhile the flour's enzymes get to work: protease breaks down some of the protein, which makes the dough more extensible, and amylase turns some starch into sugars the yeast can use. The result is a dough that stretches further before tearing and needs less mixing, which suits hand-mixed sourdough. It also makes it easier to judge hydration: after the rest you can feel whether the dough needs the reserved water.

Fermentolyse

Adding the starter at the start and holding back only the salt is called fermentolyse. It saves a step and suits busy days, but fermentation begins at once, so count the rest as part of bulk. As a starting point of ours, keep it under about 45 minutes in a warm kitchen. King Arthur goes further with a liquid starter or preferment: it goes into the autolyse with the flour and water, because without its water the flour cannot hydrate fully. A stiff starter can wait until after the rest, though King Arthur found it hard to work in once the dough had rested.

When to skip it

Very strong flours at low hydration gain little. Enriched doughs with butter, eggs or sugar are usually mixed straight. And a long autolyse with very weak flour can make a slack dough that is hard to shape. Skip it for sourdough rye: King Arthur advises against an autolyse there, because rye builds little gluten and ferments quickly, so the rest can make the dough break down.