PEK Academy
Dough, fermentation and structure.
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Core guide
Dough hydration is total water divided by total flour, expressed as a percentage. With 500 g flour, 65% hydration means 325 g water. Include flour and water from preferments.
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Cold fermentation is fermentation slowed by refrigeration. Dough can be chilled during bulk fermentation or after shaping; the right point depends on the formula, dough…
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Wheat dough structure comes from the balance between flour capacity, available water, time and mechanical work.
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Flour names describe different things in different markets. Protein percentage is a useful guide to gluten-forming potential; ash reflects mineral content and extraction; particle size and milling affect how…
The same hydration does not always produce the same dough because different flours absorb and retain water differently. Protein, damaged starch, fibre, arabinoxylans, bran, and initial moisture all matter.
Resting gives water more time to distribute through the dough and lets mechanical tension in the gluten network relax. Dough often becomes less sticky, more extensible and less likely to spring back when rolled.
Improve dough texture in the least invasive order: cover and rest it for 10–20 minutes, add liquid to a dry dough in 5–10 g steps per 500 g flour, reassess development with brief kneading or folding, and add…
A sourdough starter is ready for a first loaf when it repeatedly rises predictably after feeding and roughly doubles within several hours in a warm environment; for a common beginner routine, about 6–8 hours is…
Bulk fermentation builds much of the gas and internal structure; final proof continues fermentation after shaping. For an open crumb, do not judge either stage by the clock or one fixed rise percentage alone.
Overproofing is most reliable when several signs agree: the dough loses tension, spreads quickly after shaping, scores poorly, and has little reserve for oven spring. No single symptom is enough on its own.
Bread flavor develops during both fermentation and baking. Slower fermentation or a ripe preferment can deepen flavor because yeast, and in sourdough also lactic acid bacteria, produce organic acids, alcohols…
For a crisp bottom and soft rim, balance hydration, fermentation, a fully preheated baking surface and topping moisture.
Kneading is only one route to gluten development. Short-fermented doughs often need more strength built during mixing, while long-fermented doughs continue developing through rest and folds.
For most home baking, a digital kitchen scale with 1 g resolution and roughly 3–5 kg capacity is practical. Weigh very small doses, where 1 g is a large relative error, on a separate 0.1 g scale.
Baker's yeast in normal wheat bread dough does not need added table sugar. Flour enzymes release fermentable sugars, while an open crumb also depends on the dough's ability to retain the gas produced.
Good bread depends on a sequence of connected stages: structure, fermentation, shaping and baking. Diagnose a problem at the stage where it first appears, not only in the finished loaf.
If your dough is not rising, separate three possibilities first: fermentation is only slow because of temperature or formula, the yeast is weak or damaged, or the dough is producing gas but cannot retain it.