Dough development

A bâtard with one long score and an ear — the shape used in the teaching country loaf.

Printed from https://gourmetgastronomer.com/baking/sourdough/dough-development/

The gaining of dough strength and extensibility through mixing, rest, and folds as gluten networks organize.

Appears in Learn sourdough · Previous: Mixing · Next: Bulk fermentation

Dough development is the felt difference between a shaggy mass and a dough that can hold gas. Gluten is the protein network; time, water, and mechanical work are how it organizes.

Folds during Bulk fermentation are a gentle way to continue the work that Mixing started. Flour strength varies: Wheat flour is not one ingredient ¹.

Underdeveloped dough slumps. Overdeveloped dough tears. The baker learns the middle by touch.

Ingredient

Wheat flour

Connected from

Appears in pathways

Learn sourdough

Sources & further exploration

Cited in this article

Raymond Calvel. The Taste of Bread. Aspen Publishers. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8342-1646-4

Updated 2026-08-25. gg:topic:dough-development · CC BY 4.0

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