stretch and folds
Hi there
I'm back after a hiatus. I was wondering, just exactly how important the stretch and fold technique is. Because i was just randomly trying different ways, pulling with one hand, folding then turning it etc. then the second round i put it on a board and sort of tried to do a lamination then decided i'll just do a one handed stretch and fold. third round i added rosemary and some of it was all bunched up together so i pinched off some of the dough and stuck it in another spot. but each round of s and f's by the third s and f the dough was getting kinda too stiff to work with. idk. was i being too wreckless???idk my thinking is, as long as you're working the dough, does it really matter??? also, s and f's aren't mandatory anyway right? so isn't it a bonus that i'm handling the dough at all??
What is your formula/recipe?
A repeatable method is best. It sounds like your method is random-ish.
Gluten development is required for what is considered by most to be "good" bread.
I like the blog by the Clever carrot and i use her sourdough book called Artisan sourdough made simple. Yes, my method is randomish bc i keep googling different techniques so i'm all confused. her recipe doesn't even ask for S and Fs. even though there's a section on S and F technique. Her technique is quite simple, 4 s and f's each round. her formula is 50g starter, 350 g water, 500g flour 9g salt 8-10 hr BF. at 21c. i'm quite rough with the S and Fs too. not gentle at all.