Gluten relaxation

When dough is mixed, kneaded or rolled, stress builds up in its gluten network, and the dough tends to spring back or tear if it is pushed further. Resting lets that internal stress dissipate gradually.

In a study of wheat dough put through sheeting and resting cycles, elongation increased significantly after resting. Stress relaxation showed up in every sample: the stress peaked, dropped, then leveled off at a steady value. The authors also report that resting promoted the formation and strengthening of the gluten network, and that the network became slightly loosened after a short rest while staying evenly distributed.

For bakers this is the reason for short rests between working steps, such as letting a dough sit before rolling it out so it stretches instead of snapping back. A baking textbook's gluten test likewise has the dough rest for about 10 minutes.