legendary French bread authority, Raymond Calvel, to compensate for some of the disadvantages of rapid industrial production It has also been adopted by many artisan bakers Autolysis involves combining only the flour and water and letting them sit for 15–30 minutes before adding the leavening and salt According to Calvel, this initial preparation gives the starch and the gluten proteins a chance to absorb as much water as possible without the interference of salt, and allows the gluten chains to shorten more (autolysis means “self-digestion”) The result is a dough that’s easier to manipulate, requires less kneading and therefore less exposure to oxygen, and so better retains the wheat’s light golden color and characteristic taste Dough Development: Kneading Once the ingredients have been mixed and the dough is formed, the process of dough development begins Whether the dough is kneaded by hand or in an electrical mixer, it undergoes a similar kind of physical manipulation: it is stretched, folded over, compressed, stretched, folded, and compressed many times This manipulation strengthens the gluten network It unfolds the proteins further, orients them side by side and encourages the development of many weak bonds between neighbors The glutenin molecules also form strong end-toend bonds with each other and thus a cohering network of extensive gluten chains The dough gradually gets stiff, harder to manipulate, and takes on a fine, satiny appearance (If the dough is worked so hard that many end-to-end bonds start breaking, its overall structure breaks down, and the dough becomes sticky and inelastic Overdevelopment is a real problem only when kneading is done mechanically.) ... This manipulation strengthens the gluten network It unfolds the proteins further, orients them side by side and encourages the development of many weak bonds between neighbors The glutenin molecules... strong end-toend bonds with each other and thus a cohering network of extensive gluten chains The dough gradually gets stiff, harder to manipulate, and takes on a fine, satiny appearance (If the. ..begins Whether the dough is kneaded by hand or in an electrical mixer, it undergoes a similar kind of physical manipulation: it is stretched, folded over, compressed, stretched, folded, and compressed