May 10, 2011 - 7:45am
What is "Slacking"?
I thought that I was pretty knowledgeable when it comes to bread baking, but I have recently heard the term "slacking" in regards to the process of baking. Is that another name for one of the steps in the process, or something different? Given the meaning, I would think it could refer to fermentation, bench rest, or maybe proofing, but wasn't sure. Thanks!
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I'm only familiar with it as the adjective "slack", meaning a dough that hasn't got much form, usually because of high hydration. A "slack" dough may have a tendency to spread out flat like a pancake (one TFLer uses the term "frisbee loaves":-). A "slack" dough "fights back" less if you knead it. The word is often opposed to "stiff", i.e. either a "slack dough" or a "stiff dough".
I've never in the bread world heard of the term as a verb: "slacking". Is that -i-n-g possibly a typo?
It's what slackers (like me) do. We spend our time slacking, as much as we can. Or get away with. :)
Maybe it means putting on a pair of pants....
Slack-baked means to only partially bake something. You bake it long enough to set but not long enough to fully brown.