Before and after bench rest✨sharing to hopefully help people avoid frisbee loaves

Hello all😊 I’ve gotten so much great advice from this sub, so I wanted to share something I don’t see enough people talking about — bench rest!!!!

To my knowledge (not claiming to be a crazy good expert baker lol), a bench rest is done typically before the final shaping when it’s ready to go in the fridge. You loosely shape your dough and let it rest covered. Bench resting your dough helps relax gluten, making it easier to shape, and allows for improved flavor development and even hydration (a more even crumb).

Letting my dough bench rest was a huge game changer for me. It also allows me to literally see if my dough is ready for its cold proof/ferment in the fridge.

Picture 1: Dough after bulk fermentation at room temp, loosely shaped, and ready for its bench rest.

Picture 2: After a 45 min. bench rest with a damp towel to cover, loaf was tightly shaped and placed in banneton, then in fridge for cold proof.

Picture 3 and 4: Final product.

As you can see, my dough didn’t go completely flat after its bench rest. If your dough is going completely flat, this typically means you did not nail fermentation — depending on how long you did, it could be over or under fermented. If your dough is fermented correctly it should hold its shape and only flatten a tiny bit after its bench rest. I tried to put a pepper shaker next to my dough so you can compare the height lol.

I will link my recipe in the comments😊 again I’m just sharing what I notice and what works for me and hoping people can apply this to their own techniques and methods✨

I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts about doing bench rest? And any other tips for being able to nail that perfect fermentation.