I always rushed my sourdough folds until a baker in Asheville showed me her hands

I was at a small bakery in Asheville watching them shape loaves. The head baker, Sarah, saw me doing my folds really fast and firm. She quietly put her hands over mine and said, 'Feel this, it's not a push, it's a gentle turn.' She slowed my motion way down for a full minute. I realized I'd been treating the dough like a task to finish, not a living thing to guide. Has anyone else had a simple touch change how you handle your dough?

3 comments

3 Comments

ericb662mo ago

Read a book that called it "listening with your hands" and it stuck with me. You have to feel the dough's resistance change to know when it's ready. That gentle touch makes all the difference.

zara_hill462mo ago

That gentle turn is basically the dough telling you its whole life story.

andrew8541mo ago

My buddy Mike spent six months baking sourdough during lockdown. Kept a notebook with every single rise time and temperature. One day the dough felt loose and sticky. He threw it out. Next batch same thing. Turns out his starter was just being slow. That gentle turn he was waiting for? Never came. He switched to a different flour and it perked right up. Sometimes the dough needs a nudge, not a story.