How do you autolyse in a Zoji Virtuoso Plus? The recipes' rest period preceding the kneading is just to bring everything to room temperature, and of course all the ingredients are already in there. As I understand it, in autolysing you mix just the flour and water and let it sit for 20 minutes to do all the things autolysing does. But then what do you do if you're using a bread machine? I mean, if you don't add the ingredients EXACTLY the way the recipe demands, you can get arrested or something (they sound very serious about this, and more than a little, well, controlling). You're supposed to put the yeast in last, in a well on top of the flour. But if you autolyse, there goes the well. So now what? Mix the yeast with water? Just dump it in the center? And how about the salt? Stick it in a corner away from where you put the yeast in? I always use the home made process so I experiment quite a bit, and I've taken to adding all the seeds early in kneading rather than late. I also take the dough out after the second kneading, shape it and put it in a regular bread pan, then put it back in the machine (on top of the Zoji pan supports) to rise again and then bake. Works perfectly (takes some finessing with tongs and a hot pad to get it out. But still.) When I don't like how things are going, I cancel the whole thing and start again, usually at second or third rises (like if it's overproofing). But I've just learned about autolysing and how whiz-bang wonderful it's supposed to be, yet have seen nothing anywhere about doing this with a bread machine.

• Reply