Showerthought: I was overkneading sourdough for 3 years

I always thought you had to beat the gluten into submission or whatever, kept doing 12 minute hand kneads. Then my bread kept coming out like a brick, a baker at the farmer's market in Portland told me to stop after 4 minutes of folding. Anyone else have a secret trick that made their dough way lighter?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_cooper9d ago

6 years of super stiff dough here. Switched to stretch and folds instead, game changer.

wendy_park769d ago

Hold up, 6 years of super stiff dough? That's like running a marathon with your shoes tied together! I can't imagine wrestling with dough that tough for that long. I tried a stiff dough once and my mixer almost walked off the counter. Stretch and folds are definitely the way to go, they saved my sanity in the first few months of baking.