Autolyse vs Fermentolyse: Which One Should You Use?

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Have you ever wondered what the difference between autolyse and fermentolyse were? And which one should you actually be using when making sourdough bread?

In this article we will explore both methods of autolyse and fermentolyse and determine which one is right for you.

Understanding more about autolyse and fermentolyse, and the reasons behind each one, will give you the tools to bake better sourdough.

Here's a simple sourdough starter recipe and an easy sourdough bread recipe.

What Is Autolyse?

Autolyse (pron. auto-leze) refers to the process of combining flour with water. Sounds simple right?

But this simple act of combining flour and water starts off many reactions within your sourdough.

The autolyse process allows the flour to fully absorb the water creating a smoother, more elastic dough.

Upon hydration, the enzymes in your flour (protease, amylase) become activated and begin gluten development.

Sourdough autolyse vs fermentolyse
This bread flour has been mixed with water and autolysed for approximately 50 minutes.

What Is Fermentolyse?

Fermentolyse (pron. ferment-o-leze) refers to an autolyse where sourdough starter is added at the beginning of the autolyse.

Salt is often added at this point too, but it's not essential for fermentolyse.

This type of autolyse is becoming more and more popular because it means that you don't have a chance of forgetting to add the starter or salt to the dough.

Adding sourdough starter to flour and water also signifies that fermentation is commencing. This is important to note as it will affect bulk fermentation.

I use the fermentolyse process in my simple sourdough recipe.

Sourdough Fermentolyse - AUTOLYSE VS FERMENTOLYSE

So the difference is that fermentolyse refers to a dough autolysis with starter added.

For more sourdough terms explained, check out this extensive sourdough glossary.

Benefits of Sourdough Autolyse

What are the benefits of autolyse? Why take that extra time to perform this step?

Well, whether you like it or not, the autolyse process does have some benefits (however you'll see further down that the fermentolyse actually shares these benefits).

Benefits of sourdough autolyse
This photo shows bread flour, water and sourdough starter that have been fermentolysed for around 1 hour. You can see that the dough is already quite elastic and after just one round of stretch and folds became very smooth and bouncy.

Do You Need Autolyse To Bake Good Sourdough Bread?

It depends ...

Now it would be easy to say yes or no in this situation, but the truth of the matter is that it depends on what you constitute as good sourdough bread and of course what flour you're using.

In general, bread flour doesn't really need a lengthy autolyse or fermentolyse.

In fact you could do a very short 10 - 15 minutes fermentolyse and still bake great sourdough.

Yes, you can argue that it might not have a huge, lacy crumb and maybe it could have better oven spring ... but if it still tastes great and pleases you & you're family, then it's good sourdough bread!

If you're using a whole wheat or whole grain flour, then it is advisable to conduct an autolyse.

That's because this type of flour takes a bit of time to absorb the water.

You will be rewarded with better dough and in turn, better sourdough bread in this instance.

Can You Autolyse For Too Long?

Yes you can autolyse for too long.

If you're using bread flour, an autolyse of 1 hour is more than enough.

If you're using whole grain or whole wheat flour then at least one hour and up to 5 hours is perfect.

Going past this time frame will not add any benefits to your bake and in fact can cause problems with your sourdough bake.

A lengthy autolyse can result in wet, sticky dough that's impossible to work with.

Can You Autolyse In The Fridge Overnight?

No - as above, autolyse does not need to be this long.

There's really no advantage to autolysing overnight. It will not benefit your bake in any way.

If you want to utilise overnight, you are much better off using this time to bulk ferment your dough on the counter top.

This will mean you can autolyse or fermentolyse earlier in the evening and leave the dough to ferment while you sleep. Then you can shape when you wake and cold ferment before baking.

Overnight bulk fermentation is a popular choice when creating a sourdough baking timeline. It enables you to schedule sourdough around your life.

For more sourdough scheduling tips and tricks, check out my e-book, Scheduling Sourdough.

Can You Autolyse With Butter, Milk or Oil?

You can definitely autolyse with milk. Just be aware of the temperature of your kitchen because milk can definitely sour at warmer temps.

I would keep the autolyse short when using milk - up to one hour is fine.

Reserve butter and oil for after the autolyse. You want the flour to be fully hydrated and butter and oil can hinder this process.

Do You Have To Use Water?

When autolysing flour, you need to use a water based liquid (or milk). You could use coffee, tea, fruit juice or anything that has a component of water.

Here are some examples of bread that use liquids other than water.

This sourdough bread has been autolysed with black coffee.

Which Flours Need A Long Autolyse?

In general, whole wheat and whole grain flours need a longer autolyse. One to 5 hours is sufficient for this.

In particular, freshly milled flour will require a longer autolyse to ensure that the water is able to penetrate the grains.

Flours that require a longer autolyse (and will reward you with better dough for taking the time to do it):

  • Whole Wheat Flour
  • Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour
  • White Whole Wheat Flour
  • Rye Flour
  • Einkorn Flour
  • Freshly milled grains (eg if you mill your own wheat berries).

Spelt flour doesn't need an extensive autolyse - treat it the same as you would bread flour.

Does Salt Affect Sourdough Autolyse?

While many people prefer to add the salt after the autolyse, it actually has no negative effects on the process if it's added with the flour, water and starter.

It is essentially much easier to add the salt along with the water as this helps to dissolve and evenly distribute the salt through the dough.

Adding it after autolyse can be a pain as you need to massage it through your dough. It can be ok if you are using a stand mixer or Thermomix, but there's really no need to hold it back.

Adding it during the autolyse process also reduces the risk that you'll forget to add it later ... and end up with over fermented, tasteless bread!

Salt actually helps to strengthen the gluten network in your sourdough so adding it at autolyse can actually help you dough rather than hinder it!

Autolyse vs Fermentolyse - Which is Better?

There really is no difference between performing an autolyse or fermentolyse in terms of the sourdough it produces.

It really comes down to personal preference.

If you're looking for convenience, that doesn't actually hinder the outcome, then fermentolyse is definitely a process you should adopt.

It gives you all the benefits of autolyse, without the dangers of forgetting to add your starter or salt.

autolyse vs fermentolyse

Further Reading

If you found this article exploring autolyse vs fermentolyse interesting, you'll love these ideas:

Baking Timelines for sourdough bread

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10 Comments

  1. Very useful. Long and cold autolyse made the dough sticky and wet. It's good if I read this information early.

  2. I like your information. I love bread, but cannot eat it. Understand that sourdough makes it tolerable for people like me. I thought it had to be made with ancient grains? Your input here please.

  3. Thanks for your great posts on sourdough. I'm rather new and appreciate practical information.

    I bake two 1 Kg loaves of bread about every three weeks. I fermentolyse all my doughs. I also mix the salt into the flour and combine my starter with the recipe water for a more uniform distribution. I use an organic, non-hybridized flour and have noticed no difference as to which method I use so, for me, it saves me time and work.

    What makes the biggest difference is using a thick, very ripe starter and cold proofing for 72 hours in a very cold refrigerator (35F, 1.67C). I like a sourer flavor.

    Also, I freeze my bread in 1/2 loaves and have noticed that the room temperature shelf-life is amazing. My last hunk lasted over 2 weeks bagged and on the counter. Stale? - you bet - but no mold.

  4. If I am using a combination of whole wheat and bread flours, should I go with the shorter period required by the bread flour, or the longer period required by the whole wheat flour?

  5. Wow! Thank you for the information. I have learned a lot and hope to use this information in the future. Currently doing an overnight autolyse with my fresh milled white wheat bread. Perhaps I will change it up and see if it produces a better loaf.

  6. The inventor of the autolyse, and the one who coined the term, was Prof. Raymond Calvel, a French baking science scholar. According to Prof. Calvel, an autolyse is a pre-soak with all ingredients except the salt. That's what the inventor of the technique did, that's how he defined the term.

    Thus, autolyse is what you call fermentolyse, and there is no need for this additional term. And if you want to do a dough rest with the salt added, then you can just use plain English: dough rest. Again, no additional terminology required.

    Here is Calvel's seminal book: "Le Goût du Pain" (Engl. The Taste of Bread).