A brief description of the principles of fermentation in fermented doughs

Leavening is a complex process. Simply put, yeast breaks down the starch and sugar in the flour to produce carbon dioxide gas and ethanol. The carbon dioxide gas is encapsulated by the gluten, forming uniformly small air pockets that cause the dough to expand.

Fermentation needs to be controlled just right. Under-fermentation will result in a small dough with a rough texture and a lack of flavor; over-fermentation will result in a sour dough that is sticky and difficult to work with, and will collapse and shrink if it is steamed.

Primary, intermediate and secondary fermentation: My understanding is that the purpose of both primary and secondary fermentation

is to add enough gas to make the yeast bioproduction richer. How do you tell when it has fermented? For a regular dough, which usually ferments to 2-2.5 times its size, dip your finger in flour and poke a hole in the dough that won't retract. (If the dough collapses around the hole, it is over-fermented).

The fermentation time is related to the sugar and oil content of the dough and the fermentation temperature. Generally speaking, a regular dough, at 28 degrees, takes about 1 hour to rise. If the temperature is too high or too low, shorten or lengthen the fermentation time accordingly.

After the first fermentation is complete, we need to reduce the weight of the dough. We need to deflate the dough to make it "thin" again, then divide it into desired sizes, knead it into small smooth balls and let it ferment in the middle.

Intermediate fermentation, also known as rising. The purpose of this step is for the next shaping. If the dough is not risen, it will be very difficult to stretch, causing trouble in shaping the dough.

Intermediate fermentation can be done at room temperature. Usually 15 minutes.

After the intermediate fermentation, we can shape the dough into the desired shape. This is also a very important part, which directly determines whether the pastry you make is beautiful or not. The shaping method is different for each type of pastry, so you can follow the recipe. It is important to note that when shaping the dough, you must be careful to expel all the gas in the dough, as long as there is gas left in the dough, it will end up steamed out into a large cavity and will wrinkle the skin.

The second fermentation (also called the final fermentation), generally requires a temperature of about 35 degrees

The final fermentation is generally 40 - 45 minutes can be

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