Kenneth said:



The third is "formation by hydration." If you take wheat
flour and mix it with water, the process of growth of gluten
strands starts. As the flour becomes more fully hydrated
over time, the strands grow further.



Is this what Glezer refers to in Artisan Baking as "autolyse"?



She states on page 12 (quoted directly from the book):



"AUTOLYSE, a.k.a. RESTING



The term "autolyse" (pronounced AUTO-lees and used as both noun and verb)
was adopted by Professor Raymond Clavel, the esteemed French bread-baking
teacher and inventor of this somewhat odd but very effective technique.
During the rest time, the flour fully hydrates and its gluten further
develops, encouraged by the absence of: compressed yeast, which would begin
to ferment and acidify the dough (although instant yeast is included in
autolyses lasting no longer than 30 minutes because of its slow activation);
salt, which would cause the gluten to tighten, hindering its development and
hydration; and pre-ferments (see pages 101-107), which would also acidify
the dough. The flour's improved hydration and gluten development shorten the
mixing time, increase extensibility (the dough rips less during shaping),
and ultimately result in bread with a creamier colored crumb and more aroma
and sweet wheat flavor."



She goes on to say that the salt, yeast [yikes! - D_f_MO] and pre-ferments
are added directly to the dough and worked in.



I have been testing this method with my SD for quite a while now and it
really does make the bread creamier in color, it has a great aroma and
"seems" to work well for creating great SD bread. In my testing, I have been
experimenting with different ratios of the flour and water for the autolyse.
My goal was to get a good ratio of most of the flour and the water to create
a soft dough (for autolyse) and to add some of dough flour and the salt to
the starter to create another soft dough from it. Then after the autolyse
period, mixing and kneading the two different doughs together to form the
final dough for resting and rising.



Has anyone else experimented with autolyse?



Denny