The windowpane test for sourdough: is the gluten ready?
Pinch off a walnut-sized piece, wet your fingers and stretch it slowly between them. If it goes thin enough to let light through without tearing, the gluten is ready. Sourdough usually gets there during bulk fermentation, after 4 sets of folds — not at the mixing bowl.
About the size of a walnut, from the middle of the dough, with wet fingers so it does not stick.
2
Stretch it slowly
Turn it as you pull it gently between your thumbs and fingers, in all directions.
3
Hold it to the light
A thin, see-through sheet that stretches before it tears means the gluten is developed.
4
It tears straight away?
Give it another set of folds and 30 minutes, then try again.
Why
Gluten is a web of proteins that traps the gas the starter makes. When it is long and stretchy enough to go see-through, it can hold a big rise — a weak web lets the gas escape and the loaf spreads.
Questions
Do I have to knead sourdough to pass the windowpane test?
No. Time does most of the work: 4 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart, build the same strength gently.
My whole-wheat dough never makes a windowpane
Bran cuts the gluten strands, so whole-grain doughs tear sooner. Look for a thin sheet with small holes rather than a perfect pane.
Can I over-develop sourdough?
By hand, almost never. It is under-fermentation, not over-mixing, that usually causes a dense loaf.
It remembers your starter, plans every bake around your day and reminds you at each step — no alarms at 3 am. Coming to the iPhone App Store before Christmas.
Get the app the day it launches
One email when the iPhone app is on the App Store, then a short baking tip now and then.
Your email
No spam, and never shared. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe.