The importance of Autolyse

 

Autolyse.

It’s a somewhat fancy name for a simple procedure.
You mix the flour and water only and let it rest for a while before you add salt and sourdough starter/yeast.
Many recipes about artisan bread baking call for it.

But is it really that important?

Well, it depends.

But let’s start from the beginning.

1974

It all started in 1974 when Professor Raymond Calvel developed and introduced the Autolyse method.

Since the second world war, the quality of french bread had deteriorated according to him.

Finally, he had enough.

During the 1950s and ’60s, two-speed electric dough mixers had become popular among French bakers.
The more aggressive mixing practice resulted in whiter bread with high volume that began to gain popularity in France.

Professor Clavell was, however, not impressed.
The bread was whiter due to over-oxidation, a result of intensive mixing, which leads to bleached flour.
Unfortunately, it also meant less flavor and aroma.

 

WHY USE AN AUTOLYSE?

There are many reasons why you should use the Autolyse method. The first thing you will notice, however, is how the dough changes.
After one hour of Autolyse, the dough will transform from being sticky, and hard to handle, to become smooth and extensible.

And you don’t have to do anything. No kneading or slap and fold required.
The dough will take care of everything, all by itself.

But that’s not all.

Here are some advantages of letting the dough Autolyse.

• Gluten bonds will start to develop before fermentation starts, which means less kneading is required.

• Less kneading means less oxidation of the dough. This is, however, more important when a dough mixer is used.

• The dough will become more extensible. This will lead to easier shaping and a more open dough structure.

• The dough will release more sugar from starch. More sugar means better fermentation and better browning during the bake.

• The flour will be fully hydrated. This is especially important when the dough contains whole-grain flour. 

 

GLUTEN DEVELOPMENT

As soon as flour comes in contact with water, two proteins, glutenin, and gliadin start to transform into gluten.
And there is no kneading required for this to happen.
Kneading will speed up the process, but it’s not necessary.

There are, of course, other positive effects of kneading the dough, but that is another topic.

So, using the Autolyse technique gives the dough some extra time to develop the gluten without any kneading required.

 

LESS OXIDATION

When you knead the dough, you will also incorporate some air into it.
This doesn’t have to be a bad thing as oxygen strengthens gluten.
But too much air is a problem as it causes damage to the dough as a bleaching effect.

The oxidation reduces the natural yellowish flour color into porcelain white.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it also takes away some flavor.

This is hardly a problem if you mix by hand. It’s difficult to incorporate enough air for a bleaching effect to take place.
But if you are using a dough mixer, you should be aware of this potential problem.

If you let the dough Autolyse, more gluten will be developed, which means less mixing time required and less risk for bleaching.

 

EXSTENSIBILITY INCREASE

You want elasticity so the dough can keep its shape and not flatten out.
At the same time, you want some extensibility to be able to shape the dough the way you want.
Finding the sweet spot between these two characteristics is not the easiest thing.

During the Autolyse, an enzyme called protease will start to break down some of the gluten that is developed.
The dough will get som more extensibility at the expense of elasticity.

Yeast, sourdough starter, and salt has a tightening effect on the dough, making the gluten bonds stronger.
So, Autolyse can give the dough a chance to develop enough extensibility for you to shape it the way you want.

 

MORE SUGAR, BETTER FERMENTATION

Another enzyme called amylase breaks down starch into sugars. This is also a good thing because sugars are whats yeast need to thrive.
And if you let the dough Autolyse, there will already be some food for the yeast when you add the sourdough starter.

You can say that you will jumpstart the fermentation process.

More sugar also means better color on the bread. That lovely golden brown color comes from the Maillard effect, that is the sugar that has been caramelized.

 

FULLY HYDRATED FLOUR

 

Whole-grain flour includes the bran from the grain.
That is mostly a good thing.
There is one downside, though.

Those little pieces of bran are quite sharp.
They act like little knives, cutting through the gluten strings.
That is one reason why bread baked on whole-grain almost always is a little bit denser.

By using the Autolyse technique, you give the flour some extra time to hydrate, making those little bran knives a little bit softer.

It will not eliminate the negative effect on the gluten bonds, but it can reduce it.

As you can see, there are lots of good reasons why you should use the Autolyse technique.

But how is it done? And is it that easy?

Well, yes.

And no.

 

HOW DOES AUTOLYSE WORKS

As I mentioned before, You just mix flour and water only, no salt and starter, into a dough and let it rest for a while.

But how long is that?

Well, that depends.

If you are using lots of whole-grain flour in your dough, a longer Autolyse, 2 hours, or more, is a good practice. That will give the small pieces of bran some extra time to soften.

But if you are using mainly Spelt flour, it may be a good idea to use a short Autolyse of maybe 30 minutes. Or maybe exclude it altogether.
Spelt flour gives a very extensible dough by itself, and adding more with a long Autolyse is not desirable.

Some bakers use a very long Autolyse, 8 to 10 hours.
It’s not without risk, though.
Enzyme activity can break down the dough too much if left unnoticed.
For such long Autolyse, it may be a good idea to add salt, as
salt slows down enzyme activity a bit.

You can also place the dough in the refrigerator as lower temperature also slows down the enzyme activity.

I think 1 hour at room temperature is a good starting point if you haven’t tried this method before.

 

WHY CAN’T I ADD SALT AND STARTER?

You can, but then you have missed the whole point with Autolyse.
The idea with this method is to let the flour hydrate, start gluten activity, and let the enzymes work without interference from the acidic starter.

On some occasions, it can be a good idea to add salt, like when you are planning to have a very long Autolyse.

But a true Autolyse never includes sourdough starter and salt.

 

 

IS AUTOLYSE ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA?

Most of the time, it is.

But not always.

I have already mentioned Spelt flour, but there are other occasions as well.

If you are working with a stiff dough, the sourdough starter can contain a large proportion of the water.
The remaining water may not be enough to hydrate all the flour, making the Autolyse method less effective.

Finally, I also want to point out that using an Autolyse is not required to make good bread.
If you are in a hurry, don’t be afraid to skip this process. There is a good chance that your bread will come out great anyway.

I use this method quite often if I can fit it into my schedule. The benefits are too many to ignore.
But it’s not the end of the world if I have to exclude it.
It’s one helpful tool among others to make great bread even greater.