Step Number 2 – Autolyse

Home 9 The Steps of Baking 9 Step Number 2 – Autolyse

Autolysation is (if taken) the second step of baking.

The process involves mixing all the flour and water of a dough recipe and leaving it to hydrate.

Flour contains two proteins called glutenin and gliadin. When water is added the two proteins combine to form gluten.

The better your flour is hydrated the better the gluten development will be.

This is especially important for wholemeal breads and high hydration dough. The simple act of mixing flour and water and leaving it to sit for some time will help you with making a great loaf of bread.

Autolysation will decrease the total mixing time of your dough. This is helpful when making dough by hand as well as with a mixer.

When mixing dough, you will find that in time dough heats up due to friction.

Reducing mixing time will help you control this. It is important to note that the dough is a lot more easily over-mixed after autolysation so you have to keep an eye on it in the mixer.

An over-mixed dough will become shiny and sticky and way too stretchy.

On the other hand, hand mixing, although warming the dough up, will never result in over mixing.

Watch the video here

Understanding the principles of bread making will let you be in complete control every time you make bread. It will reduce the failure rate and turn you into an even more confident home baker.

I highly recommend you check out the Learning page where I have detailed, easy to understand explanations on each step of the bread baking process and the principles behind it.

More Posts

Step Number 3 – Mixing

Step Number 3 – Mixing

Mixing in the simplest term is the even distribution of ingredients throughout the dough. But of course, it is more complex than that. The first step of mixing is determining your water temperature....

read more
Step Number 4 – Bulk Fermentation

Step Number 4 – Bulk Fermentation

As soon as you stop kneading your dough fermentation begins. There are several leavening agents that can be used to ferment dough. From a leaven made from a sourdough starter to yeast or yeasted...

read more
Step Number 5 – Folding

Step Number 5 – Folding

Folding is a step taken for most types of dough. It can achieve various results that may be beneficial. At the least it will degas the dough which is recommended to be done for almost all types of...

read more