Sourdough

People are always amazed when I tell them that I work the dough by hand without flouring the work surface. Sometimes when I am giving breadmaking classes, to prove the point that you don’t need any flour, I put some extra water into the dough, to make it really sticky. No one believes that it will really come together without flour, yet it does, si

1. First, it is important to touch the dough as little as possible. Over-handling increases the temperature of the dough. It may rip the gluten, making the dough sticky and floppy. Many people make nice shapes and then ruin them because they do not stop when they should—this is commonly the cause of the impossibly long baguette.