Double hydration Hearth Bread and Flatbread Discuss Double hydration in the Brick Oven Cooking forums; Originally Posted by BrianShaw Warren, I can't prove this (not enough schooling, I suppose) but I've read that the proteins ...

[WarrenW]

Originally Posted by BrianShaw

Warren, I can't prove this (not enough schooling, I suppose) but I've read that the proteins and starches in flour hydrate at a different rate... so the autolyze allows both to hydrate more equally. In a high-hydration dough it really might not matter much, but I do it all the time anyway.

Hi Brian, yes you are correct: starches and proteins do absorb water at different rates. If you picture the proteins as tangled ropes and starches as small boulders, you have an idea of the structure of flour. As you add water, the protein "ropes" start to expand and start to (slightly) untangle themselves. The starch "boulders" become much larger much more quickly and start to "crumble" into smaller "rocks". Autolyse allows the proteins to continue to rehydrate before they are called upon to become gluten through the kneading process. This explains why a pre-autolyse bread seems so unyielding/cranky and a post autolyse seems more "relaxed"...I still allow my high moisture doughs autolyse as I do notice a bit of a difference before and after. I made some rosemary-wholemeal pain rustique over the weekend and paid attention to the process...