McGee is full of hot air (rimshot).
Though he has some details wrong. But he was a pioneer.
Gluten develops during kneading. Any further development is tiny. Experiment: run an unkneaded ball of dough, a kneaded ball of dough which had 10 minutes of mechanical work, and a risen ball of dough with the same kneading schedule under a cold tap.
The first will leave substantially less gluten, while the second two will be nearly identical.
Second, fermentation does produce gas and alcohols (plural McGee! plural!), but more importantly it breaks down starch chains into fermentable and tastable sugars.
Experiment: take one cup of white flour and two cups of water, mix them and leave it at room temp. Take the same ingredients plus a small amount (five or six grains) of cracked malted barley, and bring to exactly 142F.
After 90 minutes taste both, and prepare to be flabbergasted.
Reinhardt gets the same result, but uses a slow, cold ferment.
Last, dough elasticity. Experiment: This is a no brainer. Over knead pie dough. Compare it to recently over kneaded dough, refrigerated dough, and simple ‘cut’ dough.
The softest is the cut dough, second is fridged, third is fresh. This is because gluten is like a spring that must relax. This is why you shape rustic breads at the end.
