The 'French Fold' technique.

Before I start rambling, here are some useful videos which give a far better demonstration of the technique than anything I could write:

http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=9

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/03/bertinet_sweetdough

http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/jimpics/index.html

This post is really just about gathering a few thoughts and tips based on my (limited) experience.  The french fold is invaluable to me because I don't have a mechanical mixer of any description (well I did have a very old kenwood but sadly it died in a puff of smoke and leaked green ooze a  while ago. yuk!) 

Anyway, here are my thoughts.  I hope they make some sense and are helpful to anyone yet to try this technique.

I find the french fold works well with doughs of 60% hydration or more (depending on the flour).  Stiffer doughs may be more suited to 'conventional' kneading techniques. 

I normally allow the dough to autolyse before starting the folds.  Even if I'm not using autolyse, I will still allow the dough to relax at least 5 minutes before starting the folds. If I don't, I inevitably find the dough too tense and hard to work with and end up tearing rather than stretching. Similarly, If the dough feels too tight anytime during the folding process, I leave it to rest for a few minutes before resuming.

I always avoid adding flour or moisture to the surface I'm working on. To do so would alter the friction between dough and surface and may prevent the dough from stretching fully as I 'slap' it on to the surface  My worktop is formica (or some such hard plasticky surface) which is pretty smooth.  There is no need for a special pastry board or surface.

When working with particularly wet or sticky doughs, there will usually be some residue left on the surface in the early stages of folding.  This is normal.  I simply scrape the surface regularly and add it back to the dough.

I resist the temptation to flour or moisten my hands while working the dough. A layer of dough building up over the hands is normal. After a while it stops building up and actually makes it easy to work the dough. 

I pull back on the dough immediately after slapping it down. This stretches the dough which is kind of obvious but important.  

After folding, I pick up the dough along one of the sides  so that I'm essentially giving the dough a 90 degree turn.

If my hands are getting tired then I may switch to a one-handed fold which gives the other hand a rest.  I'm careful to fold the dough in the direction I've have slapped it  (since when using one hand this is normally coming down from one side at an angle)....In other words I'm trying not to twist the dough too much.

When do I know the dough is ready?  Well that really depends on what I'm trying to do.  For a more 'rustic' bread, or when working with a dough which has already autolysed/soaked for some time, I may require nothing more than a handful of folds.  For a baguette dough, I know I'm looking to fully develop the gluten and incorporate as much air as I can before bulk ferment. This typically takes 15 to 20 minutes.  

The dough changes 'feel' in my  hands as I continue to work it and eventually it should feel smooth and silky.  As I stretch and fold the dough over, there are usually signs of tearing to begin with. By the time I'm done, this no longer happens as the  dough has become more extensible.

After the 'french fold' I will normally leave the dough to sit on the surface for 5 to 10 minutes before applying a stretch and fold (stretching and folding in thirds from all sides). I then shape the dough into a boule since I normally bulk ferment in a circular container or bowl.

Hope that helps.

Cheers 

FP