Folding or Punching

Appears in
Professional Cooking
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2014

  • About

Punching is not hitting the dough with your fist. It is a method of deflating the dough that expels carbon dioxide, redistributes the yeast for further growth, relaxes the gluten, and equalizes the temperature throughout the dough. Professional bakers often prefer the term folding, because it more accurately describes the process.

Additional fermentation and folding may or may not take place, depending on the product. In general, doughs with shorter mixing times are folded more times, in order to continue to develop the gluten. On the other hand, if a dough has received a long mix and the gluten has been fully developed, the dough may not be folded at all but immediately divided or scaled.