This note contains an incomplete glossary of bread terminology, in alphabetical order
Autolyse
The process of combining flour and water before any other ingredients, then letting the dough rest for 30-60 minutes. This hydrates the flour and begins developing gluten.
Bulk Ferment
Bulk ferment refers to the stage where, after the dough is mixed, it is left to sit and proof/ferment/rise/whatever. Depending on how the bread is leavened, the amount of time required for the bulk ferment can vary considerably. This phase is called the bulk ferment because all of the dough is allowed to rise together. We don’t split the dough into separate loaves until after the bulk ferment is complete.
Fermentolyse
Similar to autolyse, except sourdough starter is mixed in with the water and flour. This hydrates the flour, develops gluten, and begins bulk fermentation. Note: I tend to prefer autolyse over fermentolyse.
Stretch and Fold
A process to gradually build strength in a dough, particularly in a sourdough loaf. Rather than knead the dough for a prolonged period (~10 minutes) during the initial mixing, we can build dough strength by performing several (4-6ish) stretch and fold sessions during the first few hours of the bulk ferment.
To do this, we take the dough inside our proofing container, grab some near the edge, stretch it upward, then fold it back down on itself. We repeat this process until we’ve circled the bowl at least once.