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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?
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2 Comments
ericb66
ericb669d 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.
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zara_hill46
That gentle turn is basically the dough telling you its whole life story.
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