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Old timer told me to stop kneading my bread so hard 5 years ago and it changed everything
He watched me pounding the dough for 10 minutes and said 'you're beating the flavor out of it, just fold it gentle a few times' so I tried it with a wetter dough and now my crumb actually opens up nice, anyone else had someone call them out on rough handling?
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hugo_nelson25d ago
Not quite right though. Overworking dough doesn't kill existing air pockets. Those bubbles are already there. What it does is tighten up the gluten structure too much. Makes the dough fight you. That tightness stops new air from forming during the rise. So you end up with a dense loaf that never really opens up. The gentle folding lets the gluten relax and actually hold onto gas better.
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