There is a lot of talk about dough strength and how important it is.
And make no mistake.
It is important.
Without enough strength, your dough will flatten out and lose all shape.
Most of us have experienced that, and it certainly is frustrating.
So we want to build up as much strength as possible, don’t we?

Well, not really.

You can get too much dough strength, and that will create problems.
I will explain that, but first, we have to sort one thing out.

A couple of years ago, I published a recipe for overnight breakfast rolls.
It has been one of my most popular posts, and I understand why.
They are easy to make, and you can have fresh breakfast rolls in less than an hour after getting out of bed.

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.