With Australians spending more time at home than usual right now, many are finding sanctuary in the kitchen. This includes thousands of professional and home bakers, as well as members of our own internal team here at MAURI who’ve been using their downtime to get back to what they love….baking. We’ve been sharing some of their wonderful creations on Facebook and Instagram and we’ll continue to do so. One of the most interesting recent recipes features a baking technique known as ‘autolyse.’ If you’re not familiar with it, don’t worry, you’re not alone!
What is autolyse baking?
Autolyse was first discovered back in the mid-1970s by a French Master Baker, Professor Raymond Calvel. During a series of bread baking experiments, he found extending the rest period of his mixture could greatly improve the links between starch, gluten and water – so when the mixing process was restarted, the dough attained a wonderfully smooth state far more quickly than usual.
How does the process work?
The basic principle of autolyse baking is very simple. Some (or even all) of the water and flour used in your bread mixture is pre-blended and then set to rest for an extended period of time. Doing this allows you to condition the gluten before adding the active ingredients – a technique that can deliver a dough with absolutely delicious results.
This tempting batch of baguettes, above, is a great example. One of our bakers made these recently at home using the autolyse method. He rested his mixture for 3 hours before adding in the salt and yeast. While resting times will vary from recipe to recipe, and are always open to some experimentation, he assures us the longer you rest your mixture the better!
Ready to try autolyse for yourself?
If you’re interested in trying the autolyse method, here’s the exact recipe used by our baguette baker:
INGREDIENTS
| INGREDIENTS | WEIGHT |
|---|---|
| MAURI Baker's Extra Flour | 1.380kg |
| Salt | 0.020kg |
| MAURI Dried Yeast | 0.0085kg |
| Water | 0.930kg |
| Oil | 0.015kg Optional |
METHOD
STEP 01
Mix Flour and Water together and blend at low speed for 2-5 minutes.
STEP 02
This brings us to the Autolyse Stage. Here we need to rest the dough for 2 – 4 hours at 23–25C.
STEP 03
Add Salt + Yeast and any other side ingredients and mix to achieve full dough development.
STEP 04
Rest in a tub for 1 hour, stretching and folding it every 20 mins.
STEP 05
Scale and shape as desired.
STEP 06
Proof until ready.
STEP 07
Bake at roughly 190C for 25 mins*
*Baking temperature is different for every oven, so aim to bake for a set time and adjust the temperature as required.
STEP 08
Allow to cool and eat when ready!
