An old baker at the county fair in 2012 told me to stop kneading so hard

She said I was beating the life out of the dough and that bread is softer when you're gentle with it. I still think about that whenever I'm folding dough, has anyone else gotten advice like that from a stranger that just stuck?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_vera5d ago

Admittedly your baker was wrong. Dough with higher protein content actually needs firm, consistent kneading to build the gluten network properly; gentleness can leave it slack. Your bread might be turning out denser than it could be from holding back.

holly_gonzalez615d ago

Honestly, you saying "gentleness can leave it slack" really hit home for me. I've been way too careful with my high gluten flour, thinking I was protecting the dough, but now I see I was actually sabotaging it. Like with pizza dough, if you don't work that gluten hard enough, it won't stretch right and you end up with a tough, dense crust instead of that nice, airy chew. Same thing with bagels - you gotta be firm and consistent when kneading or they won't have that tight, springy texture inside. So yeah, I'm definitely gonna start being more aggressive with my kneading from now on.