FOLDING DOUGH

ALIGN GLUTEN, ACHIEVE TENSION, BUILD UP THE VOLUME...

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Folding dough is a simple technique, and a very important step when making breads that achieve a high volume and a consistent crust. When it comes to making rustic breads that use a high-hydration, the dough is too soft to knead; folding achieves the important step of aligning the glutten strands in the dough to create tension in the dough that will hold the rise of the bread. The expansion of the bread as the yeast releases carbon dioxide needs to be captured within the layers of the dough to allow it to rise. If the dough doesnt have enough tension, some of the released gases will be lost and the bread will not rise properly. With high-hydration doughs like a focaccia, which need a large rise this step can be crucial to allow a proper rise.

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INSTRUCTIONS:

• Start by mixing the dough as required by the recipe, ensuring you've mixed in the yeast and salt thoroughly.
• Let the dough rest inside a flat-bottomed container with a lid for a couple of minutes after mixing to allow it to relax.
• Once relaxed, the dough should lie relatively flat and round. Imagine dividing the dough into quadrants in your head, you will use your hand to scoop under one of these quadrants to start the fold. Your hand should be wet or oiled to prevent the dough from sticking.
• Scoop up one quadrant with your palm and fingers in the shape of a paddle. Gently lift the dugh until you feel some tension, careful not to tear the glutten strands, then fold onto the middle of the dough.
• Rotate the dough 90 degrees and perform the same action with each quadrant for a total of four times. Each time stretching and folding the quadrant over to the middle.
• This consistutes 'one fold'at the end of which the dough will sit tall with the tension that this process built. Allow the dough to rest in a covered container for 5 minutes between each fold.
• For rustic breads 4 fold should suffice, but different recipes will require different amounts of tension. It is important to note that folding should be done ahead of the bulk-rise so as to prevent bursting the rise of the bread.