Brilliant Bread

Sourdough shaping and strengthening, however, requires a very light touch. Under no circumstances should one ever ‘knock back’ the dough, expelling all that precious gas.

Gently does it. Feel what stretch you get and use all of it, but never so much that you feel it give or tear. As you fold and tighten, the dough will begin to support itself. As you gently roll it into its final shape, you can easily overstretch things, so take it very slowly and very gently. Keep all those delicate bubbles. The dough shouldn’t sti

After mixing flour with water, a short pause of 10–20 minutes allows the particles of flour to swell with moisture, and gives the protein strands of gliadin and glutenin time to hydrate. If the addition of leaven, which is already fully hydrated, is delayed until after this has occurred, the effect on both the dough’s resilience, extensibility, and