How To Knead the Perfect Bread Dough

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How To Knead the Perfect Bread Dough Tricks Cooking Lessons for Kittens

What is the key in kneading dough by hand without an electric mixer to make perfect bread rolls and bread loaves? It is kneading dough correctly!
There is such a factor of intimidation when it comes to making bread from scratch that so many people never try it or never do it again when something’s wrong.

That’s such a pity, in my opinion. Baking bread from scratch is an unbelievably enjoyable and enriching process. Once you become familiar of some key techniques, you’re going to bake bread like a pro.
What Exactly is Kneading?
This is the method of manually shaping the dough into a smooth ball to form gluten strands. Gluten is formed when protein content in the flour in combination with water is physically mixed, stirred, or most of all kneaded.
Gluten is the key component of bread, which makes it possible to stretch and extend the dough as it rises. Most of the time, kneading can be done by hand, even if the recipe says you need a stand mixer.

Hand kneading is perfect for those of you who haven’t have a stand mixer or if your dough hook is missing.

It also helps you to improve your bread baking skills by creating a sense of how the dough should look and feel throughout various stages of the bread making process.

How Exactly Are We Going to Knead Dough?
  • You have to start in your mixing bowl by adding in half of flour with the other dry and warm wet ingredients. The liquid should be about 120-125°F and it should feel really warm, but not too hot to touch. If the temperature is too hot for you to handle, it will probably kill your yeast.
  • Gradually add the remaining flour until the ingredients form into a dough as stated in the recipe. Turn the dough out on the floured surface. Add more flour as needed, knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Start by using only the flour that is called for in the recipe. Avoid adding too much additional flour, which may lead to dry or dense bread.
Do the Window Pane Test
This test enables you to see whether the dough is kneaded perfectly and ready to move on to rising.

Just grab and lay out a piece of dough between your hands. It needs more kneading if the dough breaks or tears. If the dough breaks or tears then it needs more kneading. If the dough holds together and the light shine through and you can see web-like strands, it’s ready to rise.
Remember how the dough looks like either when it’s ready or not so that your sense for working with dough can improve.
Remember that Kneading Can Vary
A bread recipe should be seen as a set of guidelines. You need to make it work for all the variables in your unique kitchen environment.

Use your sense when making bread, that’s half the fun of it anyway! These variables may affect how long it takes to knead, raise, and bake. Here are few examples:
• Flour type and brand (bread flour has more protein and will be more effective in developing gluten)
• Environment (humidity, elevation, etc.).
• Kneading technique (you may need less time to knead by hand if you are strong and tall)
What are your favorite tricks on bread baking?

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