Since I’m somewhat new to the bread making world myself, I’m running into new terms and words that confuse me. So as I’m looking and learning what these mean, I figure I’ll add them here so that others can have a quick reference. This list will be added to at any time I run across a new unfamiliar term.

Autolyse

Autolyse is a period of rest allowed for dough to relax. After the initial mixing of flour and water, the dough is allowed to sit. This rest period allows for better absorption of water and allows the gluten and starches to align. Breads made with autolysed dough are easier to form into shapes and have more volume and improved structure. (From Wikepedia)

Proofing

This term refers to the period of rest where the leavening agent(s) in the dough are allowed to expand. The word refers to “proving” that the yeast or sourdough is active enough for the bread to rise. There are typically two stages: “bulk proofing” where the dough first rises while in bulk form regardless how many final loaves it may later be divided into, then “final proofing” which is the rising period after the dough has been divided and shaped into it’s loaf, batard, ball or other final shape.

Levain

This is simply a French term referring to sourdough starter. A “pain au levain” is French for sourdough bread, as distinct from a bread made with commercial yeast.

Mother Starter

The Mother Starter is the “go to” sourdough starter from which you would then cultivate new batches for each baking session. It is always maintained, typically it is kept in the refrigerator and fed weekly. In my kitchen, it is never completely used up so that I retain at least a couple tablespoons to grow more “mother” starter. Some recipes tell you to use the mother in building the dough, then keep some of the now built up bulk starter and turn it back into your mother. I don’t do it that way for the very real fear that one day I’ll forget to “keep some back” and bake the whole thing, loosing my starter in the process. Yes, it happens. So instead I always use a “discard” from a feed to build up the required dough starter. It works precisely the same without the risk of baking your mother by accident. And you don’t want to bake your mother, right?

This is also referred to as “chef” or simply “starter”.

French Fold or Stretch and Fold

This is looked at in details (with video even) on it’s own page. It’s a different way of working the glutens in the dough that replaces kneading. That’s right, you don’t need to pound the dough for ages on end. Unless you like to; some people find it relaxing and therapeutic.

Windowpane Test

This is a test to see if you’ve kneaded the dough long enough to develop the gluten strands correctly. Simply grab a small chunk of the dough and stretch it out so you have a very, very thin sheet that, if help up to light, is nearly transluscent.

If you can do this without the dough sheet breaking or getting holes, your dough is well developed. If you get holes before you can get the sheet translucent, you need a little more kneading or stretching time. Check again after another 5 minutes of kneading.

You may also find that allowing the dough to simply rest or Autolyze (see above) will allow the gluten to develop properly.

Some doughs made with other types of flour such as rye will have real issues getting a good windowpane as they do not contain the amount of gluten found in wheat flour.

Gringe

A slashing technique that creates a more horizontal cut under the dough’s surface. As the bread bakes, the cut remains covered a little longer, allowing it to expand more before it bakes. This is also referred to as “ears” since the flap created eventually curls up and protrudes a little.

Not only do “ears” of gringe help the bread expand while baking (called “oven spring”) but they also give a pleasant ‘artisanal’ appearance. The slightly more baked edge add to the flavour of the bread as well as the baked wheat of the crust is usually a fair part of the the whole bread’s flavour.

Lean Breads

A lean bread is one made with the basic bread ingredients of flour, water, salt and leavening (i.e. sourdough starter, instant yeast, etc.) although there are also unleavened breads that fall into this category, such as matzo. A lean bread can also have extra items such as herbs, sliced olives, grains & seeds, raisins, etc. as these are not specifically part of the dough itself.

Enriched Bread

A bread is considered “enriched” when ingredients are added beyond the lean dough ingredients. Adding oil, milk, butter, honey, molasses, egg and so forth is considered “enriched” bread as these modify the dough structure considerably. These will affect things like rising ability, gluten structure and development, softness of the crumb, etc.. They do more than simply change the taste of the bread.

On the other hand, adding herbs, grains or seeds like sunflower or extras like raising or olives does not specifically change the dough composition; they are merely flavour/texture additions.

Straight Dough

This refers to a method more than the composition of the bread. A straight do is where all basic ingredients are placed in a bowl then mixed into a dough. The specific ingredients are not really relevant to the definition. A straight dough may be easier defined by what t is not: it does not make use of a pre-ferment or sponge. A Straight dough is therefore a simple dough: mix, bulk ferment, shape, final proof, bake.

Sponge Dough

The opposite of a Straight dough: it uses some manner of preferment, whether that is a pâte fermenté, sponge, biga, poolish and so forth. A preferment allows the flour to develop flavour over time by pre-wetting some or all of the flour in the recipe, sometimes with a portion of the yeast as well. Once the sponge or pre-ferment part is completed, tit is added to the particular bread’s ingredients, making it a two-stage process.

Pâte Fermenté (See Step-by-Step info here.)

This French term translates as “fermented dough” and is a “sponge dough” method of creating a more flavourful bread by allowing a portion of the final dough to rest for several hours, usually refrigerated to slow yeast activity. Typically, this simple lean dough (water, flour, yeast – whether commercial or sourdough – and sometimes salt) is allowed to develop for 12 to 16 hours. Breads that use this step are no longer “straight dough” since this is a separate, additional step.

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