- Hydration – expressed in %, it means the proportion of water and it always relates to the flour amount (which is always 100%). So:
- 100% hydration means it contains equal parts flour and water
- 70% hydration means it contains 70 grams water per 100 grams flour.
- 65% dough hydration means it contains 650 grams water per 1000 grams flour (Be careful to account for the amounts of flour and water in the starter as well as the ones added in the bread recipe itself).
- Autolyse – a phase where flour is mixed with water and left to rest for an amount of time, in order to initiate gluten development. It is an optional phase, but it may help get an open crumb in wheat loaves.
- Slap & fold – kneading technique where dough is slapped onto the working bench, then lifted and stretched. It’s a different technique to stretch & fold, which is a technique used during bulk ferment in order to improve gluten development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBO4XyL3iM
- Bulk ferment – first fermentation, where the entire amount of dough (“bulk”) is proofed. So, if you’re making 10 loaves, the bulk ferment will require you to proof the entire amount of dough. During this phase, significant changes occur in the dough (it rises, gluten development is encouraged etc.)
- Folding techniques – techniques applied to the dough during bulk ferment in order to encourage the development of a strong gluten network. These include:
- Stretch & Fold (SF) – the most common technique, where dough is stretched and folded onto itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz9CO1PJ0sM
- Coil folds – a technique where dough is lifted and folded from the middle. It is a more gentle technique and is usually applied toward the end of the bulk ferment, in order to not deflate the dough after its first rise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcEzgWwQQjc
- Dough lamination – a slightly more difficult technique, where you stretch out the dough in a very thin layer on your workbench and then fold it in layers onto itself. It is usually performed the first hour of bulk ferment, as it can be a pretty aggressive technique to use toward the end of fermentation. It is used mostly for high hydration doughs, as it is pretty difficult to perform on a dry dough – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcJZJOCyPmo
- Shaping: the phase where you form your loaf onto its final form. Most common shapes used are:
- Batard : oval shape
- Boule: round shape
- Final proof: the final stage of fermentation, where the shaped loaf is left to rise before being baked.
- Baking – thermal processing of a dough and transformation into a final baked product.
- Oven spring – the final rise of a loaf that happens when dough is exposed to the high temperature in the oven, before the yeasts in the dough finally die out (that happens when they reach approximately 65 C). the bubbles trapped in the dough expand their volume and the bread undergoes a dramatic transformation, increasing its volume significantly in a matter of just minutes.
- Internal/ core temperature – reading of the temperature reached inside a loaf. It is measured with a thermometer and is important as it is the most precise way to tell if a loaf is fully baked (most breads are considered to be baked if their core temperature reaches 92-93 C).
