What is autolyse?

fermentolyse

A rest after mixing all ingredients including salt and yeast, before kneading. Less hydration time than a pure autolyse (because the salt tightens the dough and the yeast starts working immediately), but simpler — no two-stage mix. Pizza recipes, poolish-based loaves, and most home bakers use this in place of a true autolyse without noticeable difference in result.

stretch and fold

Grab one side of the dough in the bowl, stretch it up gently, fold it over the middle. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat — four passes around the bowl equals one set. Typically performed 3-4 times at 30-minute intervals during bulk fermentation. Stretch-and-fold replaces kneading for wet doughs (anything above ~70% hydration) where conventional kneading is impractical because the dough is too sticky to handle on a counter. The technique builds gluten in pulses rather than all at once: each fold realigns and tightens the gluten network without the surface tension getting in the way. The rests between sets let fermentation gas build up too, so the dough gets stronger AND lighter with each round. Standard for ciabatta, focaccia, country sourdough, and any high-hydration recipe.

fraisage

A French kneading technique: use the heel of your hand to smear just-mixed dough across the counter in short, firm strokes — typically about ten passes for a single batch. Originally a pastry technique for pâte brisée, where the goal is to coat the flour with butter without overworking it. In bread, fraisage finishes incorporation and develops gluten without the slap-and-fold of a French knead. Most useful for enriched doughs (brioche, challah) where you want gluten development without warming the dough up too much, and for stiff doughs where stand-mixer kneading risks tearing the gluten network. Skip it for high-hydration doughs — they're too wet to smear cleanly and respond better to stretch-and-fold instead.