FAQ for alt.bread.recipes

Mixing and kneading

Editor's note: This is a piece on Stretch and Fold contributed by WCSJohn. It will become a part of the Mixing and Kneading section but it is not meant to be the entire section.

Stretch and Fold

Stretch and fold, hereinafter referred to as "s&f," is a simple, quick, and remarkably effective technique for developing elasticity in bread dough. It is normally associated with high-hydration (75–100%) dough, particularly in the making of Italian-style, big-holed loaves; but 1 or 2 s&f cycles have a disproportionate positive effect on the quality of a normal hydration (60–65%) dough that hasn't developed fully during mixing and kneading. It is also a very effective rescue technique for those exceptionally annoying doughs (we all encounter them occasionally) that just will not form properly, are stringy, have insufficient elasticity to shape successfully, or just don’t feel right. S&f can produce edible bread from the most awful slop.

For a typical, 80–90% hydration bread, turn out or pour the dough onto a floured surface and, using your floured bench knife to slide underneath, roll the dough in the flour until it no longer sticks. With floured hands, grasp both ends of the dough and stretch it to an oblong with sides in the ratio 3:1.

Fold the dough in three, like a letter, which will give you a rough square. Invert, turn through 90 degrees, and leave to rest for 10–20 minutes or so. The timing will vary with the hydration, temperature, and flour. If the dough resists the stretch to the point of threatening to tear, leave it another 10 minutes and try again.

Repeat as many times as necessary, until the dough, quite suddenly, becomes very elastic and sits high on the bench. For a dough of 80% hydration the third or fourth s&f will, normally, bring about the sudden change. After the dough has become elastic, give it one more s&f. It will then be ready for the bulk rise.

Note: The first two or three or even four iterations of s&f will not seem to have much effect on the dough. The major change really does happen in one s&f. After, say, iterations one, two, and three you may well still have glop. Then you do, say, the fourth s&f, and, Bingo!, you have real bread dough.

For lower hydrations—an example would be standard baguette dough at 60% hydration—the best way to use s&f is during the bulk ferment. Dough at 60% hydration normally needs to rise by about half in order to allow the stretch without tearing. The technique helps produce baguette dough that holds its shape well during proof, because it has sufficient elasticity to allow shaping with tension in the dough.