In baking, the autolyse refers to flour hydration with a liquid before adding leavening and salt and is believed to improve flavor. The term is a  French cognate of autolysis that comes from the Greek αὐτο- (“self”) and λύσις (“splitting”) and is used in biochemistry to describe self-digestion through cellular destruction by way of enzymatic activity. 

Pronounced awt-l-ahyz,  this technique is used in bread making to fully hydrate the flour before adding the remaining ingredients and before kneading. It involves mixing flour and whatever liquid that will be used together, then letting it sit for a defined period of time, usually 45 minutes or longer. I usually begin the autolyze of my dough at the same time I activate my start. 

For example, in my overnight sourdough bread recipe, a few hours before dinner I activate the starter and separately mix two cups of filtered water with four cups of flour. I usually use my stand mixer just to cut down on mess, but Amy Scherber says, “Don’t be afraid to get your hands on the dough, that’s the fun part.” So if sounds fun, go for it.

This wet dough is often called a “shaggy mass” and can be an important first step in bread making. Sherber explains the dough should feel wet, and if it doesn’t, then add more water. “People usually say to add more flour,” she says, “but we say the opposite. You want it to be sticky and supple, so if you’re adding more water, add 1 tablespoon at a time.”

The Autolyse Was Developed Through Research

The concept of the autolyse is a fairly recent development introduced by French baking professor Raymond Calvel and described his Le Gout du Pain1 (‘The Taste of Bread’ 2). He found that mixing water and flour reduced the total mixing and kneading time required and resulted in “bread that has a creamy crumb, excellent flavor, and very good quality overall.”3

Calvel’s 1974 research was intended to restore the lost character of French bread, which many felt happened after World War II. The process was revolutionary and worked to turn the tide of French bread-making back to its historical state of excellence.

But the purpose is more than just flavor. Mike Greenfield of Pro Home Cooks explains that it also develops gluten bonds right away without over oxidizing the dough. He says that over-oxidation from mixing damages the pigments in flour and reduces flavor. He also explains that during the autolyse “dough develops more extensibility (stretch) and elasticity from all the gluten bonding (better crumb, better rise).”

What is going in the Autolyse?

Greenfield, who claims he didn’t like science in school, explains the science of the process this way, “The autolyse increases the enzymatic activity of Amylase and Protease. The protease enzymes degrade the protein in the flour, which encourages extensibility. The amylase enzymes turn the flour’s starch into sugars that the yeast can consume, increasing that activity in the dough.” 

“During the autolyse the flour absorbs the water, becoming fully hydrated. This activates enzymes in the flour that stimulate the proteins to start gluten development. At the same time, further enzymes are starting to break starch down into the simple sugars that will feed the yeast during the bulk prove. These two processes would happen during traditional dough making, but the important thing is that they are happening before any kneading is done. Too much kneading can result in an over oxidised dough which detracts from the finished bread’s colour, flavour and texture. Allowing an autolyse stage at the start of the whole process reduces the kneading time required, later on, meaning that dough oxidation is also reduced.”—Bakery Bits

However, Greenfield says, that the end results are what counts,“You get a dough that is easier to handle before it’s baked and in the end, the texture and color are better too, along with a better taste and shelf-life.”

The resting dough, explains Chad Robertson, owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, allows glutens to “swell and form chains that become the gas-trapping structure of the dough.” He continues, there are “other beneficial actions that occur during this rest period, such as the conditioning of protease, an enzyme in the flour that is activated with hydration and works on the gluten to increase extensibility. Extensibility is the ability of the dough to stretch easily while not pulling back, or bucking. It’s an important quality that is essential to achieve good volume in your bread.”4

How Long to Autolyse?

In his second book, Robertson recommends an extended autolyse of 2 to 4 hours in bread made with higher percentages of whole-grain flours.5 But he writes, “If you are short on time, even a 15-minute rest is better than none and increases the efficiency of the turns you are about to do.”6

The baker at Bakery Bits in the UK says, “The length of time allowed for the autolyse will affect the amount of kneading required once the levain (sourdough starter) and salt are added.

“Including an autolyse phase in your bread-making routine will mean a shorter time spent mixing and kneading. I find that bread made with stoneground flour, from smaller mills, that have not been conditioned improve immeasurably with a longer autolyse.  This is because the extra moisture coupled with the stoneground milling process means that the flour has larger starch at a microscopic level, which means that they absorb the water more slowly. Autolyse gives this flour the chance to hydrate and the proteins have the opportunity to bond before the dough is handled, which makes the most of the gluten present.”

Many bakers skip the autolyse. In the past, I certainly did but now I have made it a part of my baking rhythm. What about you?

In the comment section below, tell us if and when you use an autolyse in your baking.

References

  1. Raymond Calvel R (1997) Le Gout du Pain. Jérôme Villette
  2. Raymond Calvel, (2001). The taste of bread : a translation of Le Goût du pain, comment le préserver, comment le retrouver. Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers. p. 31. ISBN 0834216469.
  3. ibid.
  4. Chad Robertson, Tartine Bread, Chronicle Books LLC, 2010
  5. Chad Robertson, Tartine Book No 3, Chronicle Books LLC, 2013
  6. ibid, Robertson, 2010