fermented doughs feel softer and easier to work than newly kneaded dough Food Words: Knead The word knead comes from an IndoEuropean root meaning “to compress into a ball”; related words are gnocchi, quenelle, knoll, and knuckle Doughs made from high-protein flours may be put through a second rising to develop their tougher gluten fully Either way, the fermented dough is then divided, gently rounded into balls, rested for a few minutes to allow the gluten to relax somewhat, and then molded into loaves The loaves are then allowed another partial rise, or “proof,” to prepare them for the final and dramatic rise during baking Retarding the Fermentation Traditional breadmaking can last many hours, and bakers would often have to work through the night in order to sell fresh bread in the morning In the 1920s, bakers in Vienna began to experiment with breaking the work into two periods, a daytime stint for mixing, fermentation, and molding into loaves, and then an earlymorning baking During the night, the formed loaves were kept in a refrigerated chamber Cool temperatures slow the activity of microbes substantially; yeasts take 10 times longer to raise bread in the refrigerator than at warm room temperature Refrigeration of dough is therefore called retarding, and the cold chamber a retarder Retarding is now a common practice In addition to giving the baker greater flexibility, retarding has useful effects on the dough Long, slow fermentation allows both yeasts and bacteria more time to generate flavor compounds Cold dough is stiffer than warm dough, so it’s easier to handle without causing a loss of leavening gas And the cycle of cooling and rewarming redistributes the ... warm room temperature Refrigeration of dough is therefore called retarding, and the cold chamber a retarder Retarding is now a common practice In addition to giving the baker greater flexibility, retarding has useful effects on the. ..order to sell fresh bread in the morning In the 1920s, bakers in Vienna began to experiment with breaking the work into two periods, a daytime stint for mixing, fermentation, and molding into loaves, and then an... earlymorning baking During the night, the formed loaves were kept in a refrigerated chamber Cool temperatures slow the activity of microbes substantially; yeasts take 10 times longer to raise bread in the refrigerator than at