One of the initial steps in the bread baking process, mixing, is hugely responsible for the quality of your final product. Even if the mixing is done well, a product’s quality will be compromised if the incorrect mixing method is used instead of the one that works best for the ingredient selection and genre of bread.
The three common yeast bread mixing methods are the short, improved and intensive styles. In addition to crumb structure, mixing methods greatly affect dough strength and required fermentation time. As mixing time and intensity increase, more strength is imparted to a dough, until the mixing tolerance is exceeded and the dough starts to break down. Because dough development is increased as dough ferments, the more dough is mixed, the less fermentation it may require.