Autolyse is the rest period following the mixing of flour and water. It's a fancy name for a very simple step that imparts a myriad of benefits to sourdough bread. It makes dough much easier to handle and results in tastier bread.


The autolyse method is a simple process used in bread making that allows combined flour and water to rest before adding other ingredients to the bread dough. Professor Raymond Calvel—a French Master Baker—discovered the autolyse method in the 1970s when he sought a solution to degrading bread quality brought on by the mass production of French bread.

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