The first time I heard the word autolyse, I thought it described some experiment taking place in a laboratory. I was new to sourdough baking and therefore had not learned all the sometimes weird baking terms that flourish in sourdough baking communities. You can imagine how confused I was when I read about amylases.
I mean seriously. Are we making bread or what? Amylases sound like some unwanted additive you can find in some food products.
Why do we use these strange words? Maybe it’s because it gives us a feeling of community. We belong to a group, the fellowship of the sourdough starter.
But it can also be very convenient. With one word, we can describe a whole process and everybody in the community understands with no further explanations.
Except for the beginners. Most of them are scratching their head wondering what the heck we are talking about. I think most of us have been there.
So, I put together this short glossary, featuring some of the most common “weird” terms you may meet.
BAKING TERMS EXPLAINED
Alveoli: It’s another word for the gas pockets in the crumb.
Amylases: Enzymes in flour that breaks down starch to sugar.
Ash: Ash content is the content of minerals in flour. High ash content increases baking qualities.
Autolyse: Autolyse is a fancy word for letting the dough rest for a while. You mix flour and water in a bowl until all flour is hydrated. Then it’s time for the dough to rest for 30 – 60 minutes, sometimes longer. That gives the flour time to absorb water, and enzymes to break down protein to gluten and sugar. After that, it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients, including the sourdough starter. This procedure results in a dough that is less sticky and easier to handle.
Bakers percentage: Also sometimes called bakers math. This is a method to express the different ingredients as a percentage of the total amount of flour.
Let say you are mixing the dough with 1000 gram flour, 670-grams water, 20-gram salt, and 8-gram yeast. According to bakers percentage that will be 100% flour (the amount of flour is always 100%), 67% water, 2% salt, and 0.8% yeast.
You divide the amount of the different ingredients with the amount of flour.
But what is the benefit of this?
Well, it makes it easier to compare different recipes. It’s also handy when you want to scale up or down a recipe.
Banneton: A basket that helps the loaf holding it’s shaping during final proofing.
Batard: A loaf that has an oval or oblong shape.
Bassinage: This is a method to add water to a very wet dough. You hold back some of the water and add it when the dough has developed some strength during bulk fermentation.
Bench rest: After pre-shaping the dough is allowed to rest for a while to let the gluten relax a bit. This makes the dough easier to handle during the final shaping.
Biga: A Biga is a pre-ferment with origins in Italy. It’s made with commercial yeast, not sourdough starter, but you will encounter it in sourdough communities now and then.
Boule: A classic round loaf. It comes from the French word for ball.
Bran: It is the outer layer of the wheat kernel. It surrounds and protects the Endosperm and Germ. The Bran contains large amounts of B-vitamins, minerals, and fibers. Just like the Germ, it’s included in whole wheat.
Bulk fermentation: Most loaves have two fermenting cycles. Before and after the loaves are formed. Bulk fermentation is the first cycle.
Couche: It’s a heavy linen fabric, used as support for loaves during the final proof.
Crumb: A term that describes the texture and hole pattern on the soft inner part of the bread.
DDT: Sounds nasty, doesn’t it? But relax, you’re not going to add pesticides to your bread. It is only an abbreviation for Desired Dough Temperature.
Diastatic malt: If you sprout barley, let it dry, and ground it you will have diastatic malt powder. Add a small amount to the dough, and It will help to give a better rise and a browner crust.
Ears: If you score the loaf in a certain way, you can get an ear on the baked bread. A small part of the crust lifts attractively.
Elasticity: A dough’s ability to spring back to its original shape after being stretched.
Endosperm: It’s the bulk of the wheat kernel. It consists mostly of protein and starch and is also a source of fibers. The endosperm is the only part used when milling white wheat.
Enriched dough: It’s a dough that contains a high amount of sugar and fat from butter, egg, or oil. It’s used for brioche and croissants among others.
FDT: It’s an abbreviation for Final Dough Temperatur.
Folding: A method to encourage gluten development instead of kneading. The dough is tipped out from the bowl on a working surface, folded in thirds like a letter, rotated 90, and folded again. It’s common to repeat this procedure several times during bulk fermentation. Another method is stretch and fold, where the dough is stretched from one side of the bowl and folded over to the other side.
Germ: The Germ is the sprouting section of the wheat kernel. It is rich in flavor and fat.
Due to the high content of fat, it’s often removed before milling, as it shortens the shelf life of the flour. It is included in whole wheat, though.
Gluten: Most people have heard about gluten. But what is it? Most of you may know some are sensitive to gluten and those with celiac disease should avoid it. Then there are people who don’t suffer from any gluten intolerance but still claim that it’s something more dangerous than a loaded gun. But because bakers don’t know what fear is, they want lots of it.
Gluten is an elastic protein that traps carbon dioxide in large pockets that build up the crumb.
Gliadin: Gliadin is one of the proteins in flour that, together with Glutenin, is needed for Gluten to be developed. Gliadin gives the dough extensibility.
Glutenin: Glutenin is one of the proteins in flour that, together with Gliadin, is needed for Gluten to be developed. Glutenin gives the dough strength and elasticity.
Hard wheat: Wheat with high protein content. It’s suitable for bread baking for its ability to develop Gluten.
Heterofermentative: A heterofermentative lactic bacteria can ferment glucose to several end products like lactic acid, acetic acid, but also alcohol and CO2 gas.
hom*ofermentative: A hom*ofermentative lactic bacteria ferment glucose primarily to lactic acid.
Hooch: Sometimes a layer of liquid accumulates on top of the starter. It’s, in fact, alcohol, and a sign you need to feed your starter.
Hydration: Hydration is the ratio of water to flour. See bakers percentage. If you are mixing 1000 gram flour and 700-gram water, the hydration will be 70%.
Lame: A special knife with a curved or straight, very sharp, blade. You use it to score the loaf before baking.
Levain: Another name for a pre-ferment that contains wild yeast and bacteria. Is Levain and sourdough starter the same thing? Well, some say yes, and some say no. Nobody seems to know for sure.
Maillard reaction: When the bread starts to get that lovely golden brown colored crust in the oven, it’s a result of a Maillard reaction. It’s a chemical reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids.
Oven spring: During the first minutes of baking the heat from the oven will speed up the yeast activity, which increases the volume of the bread a lot (if it’s not over-fermented).
Peel: A peel is a tool, often made of wood, that is used to load and unload bread from the oven.
Poolish: A soaked pre-ferment with a small amount of yeast.
Proofing: The second fermentation cycle (after bulk fermentation and the forming of the loaves). Also called the final rise.
Retarding: It’s a method to slow down or hold back the fermentation process by lowering the ambient temperature. The most common way is to place the dough in the refrigerator.
This glossary of baking terms is not complete. I’m sure I have forgotten at least as many as described above.
Do you have any favorite weird baking terms? Please let us know.
