Bread flour · 72% hydration

The Bench Lamination Fold: One Stretch, Then Hands Off

Log 038Logged 3 Nov 2026By The Starter DeskFlour Bread flourHydration 72%Crumb 5/5

Cross-section line drawing: one long ear slash at 30 degrees, cut cold, 30 degree cut, 34% open crumb — Crumb line drawing · even open honeycomb, no big corner tunnels

Formula at a glance — Log 038

Ingredient	Amount	%
Bread flour	900 g	90 %
Whole wheat flour	100 g	10 %
Water	720 g	72 %
Sourdough starter	200 g	20 %
Salt	20 g	2 %

Percentages are of total flour weight.

Shaping	batard, 24 cm banneton, seam down, cold from the fridge
Scoring	one long ear slash at 30 degrees, cut cold, 7 mm
Bake curve	250 °C, 20 min steam, 44 min
Crumb rating	5/5 · 34% · even open honeycomb, no big corner tunnels

A bench lamination is the most aggressive fold in bread baking: the dough is stretched out to a rectangle as thin as you dare, then folded back on itself like a letter. Done once, at 72% hydration, with 10% whole wheat, it produces the most even crumb in this ledger — an open honeycomb with none of the large corner tunnels that come from folding inside a bowl.

Why the bench and not the bowl

Folding in a bowl only redistributes the outer layer of the dough. Stretching it to a 40 x 30 cm rectangle on a wet bench and folding it in thirds exposes every part of the dough to the fold, which is why the crumb comes out even instead of open in the middle and tight at the edges. The dough is wet, so the bench must be wetted with a spray bottle, not floured.

Stage	Time	Detail
Mix	0:00	72% water, starter and salt all in
Bench lamination	0:45	Stretch to 40 x 30 cm, fold in thirds twice
Coil fold 1	1:30	Back in the tub
Coil fold 2	2:15	Dough is smooth and holds a window
Bulk end	4:00	55% rise, bubbly edges
Cold retard	4:00-19:00	15 h at 4 °C

The stretch is the technique

Wet the bench, put the dough in the middle, and stretch it outward with both hands flat, working around the edge like a pizza. The dough will resist around 30 cm and then give; stop before it tears. Fold the left third over the middle, the right third over that, then repeat from the top and bottom. Two letter folds and the dough is already noticeably stronger.

A cold score and an even bake

The loaf goes into the oven from the fridge with one 30-degree ear slash, 7 mm deep, cut cold. 250 °C, 20 minutes of steam, 44 minutes total. The crumb should be a honeycomb from crust to crust with no corner tunnels, which is the specific thing lamination buys you that bowl folding does not.

Crumb rating 5/5: even open honeycomb, no big corner tunnels.
The 10% whole wheat shows as flecks visible in every slice.
Toast slices on day two; the even crumb means they brown uniformly.

If the dough tears during the bench stretch, it is not ready — give it 15 more minutes. A lamination on an under-rested dough does more damage than no lamination at all.

Sources / 参考来源

Published reference works consulted for this log:

Method, in order

Why the bench and not the bowl
The stretch is the technique
A cold score and an even bake

Questions that came up

Can I do two bench laminations instead of one?

Yes, and some bakers do it at 40 minutes and again at 90. It gives an even more uniform crumb, but the dough loses extensibility and the score opens less. One lamination plus two coil folds is the balance I settled on.

Why did my dough stick to the bench?

The bench was not wet enough. Spray it again before the stretch and keep a scraper in your other hand to lift the edges. Flour is not an option at 72% hydration — it will dry the surface and show up as streaks in the crumb.

Other logs in this flour type

Home baking notes, shared for information only. Oven temperatures, flour absorption and starter strength differ between kitchens; adjust for yours.