Wednesday Baking: The Basics | Kneading and Gluten
Recently, several of you have submitted questions related to baking, so instead of sharing a recipe today, I'll answer those questions.
Kneading
Some of you have expressed concern that your kneading technique isn't quite up to snuff, and requested a video of me kneading. I have good news and bad news on that front. The bad news is that I don't currently have the technology necessary to shoot and upload a video of that (though perhaps when I upgrade my camera body, I'll have video capability). The good news is that the when the TV producer was here a few weeks ago, they shot some footage of me kneading. I have no earthly idea how much of that will make it into the TV segment, but hopefully a little bit of it will (I should have a link to the show on Feburary 8th).
In the meantime, let me point out a post on kneading that I did a while back. In that post, there is a link to a Picasa slideshow of me kneading. If you click on "slideshow" and go throug the pictures really fast, it's almost like a video.
Also, you may not have noticed it, but in all the yeast recipes I post, I usually make the word "knead" a link to the post on kneading, so if you ever need a refresher, there it'll be.
In case you are too uninspired to click on over to the kneading post, here are a few quick pointers.
- The point of kneading is to stretch the dough. Whacking it with a rolling pin and throwing it against the counter (seriously, I have seen these methods advocated on other blogs!) is not going to efficiently accomplish the goal of stretching the gluten. You'll want to use a turn, push, turn, push motion.
- Don't add too much flour. A stiff dough will resist rising (the yeast is not strong enough to push through really hard dough) and will be really difficult to work with. Only add enough flour to keep the dough manageable, and only sprinkle flour on the counter, not onto the dough itself.
- Try to keep the flour on the outside of the dough. This is why I suggest only sprinkling flour onto the counter, not onto the dough. It doesn't matter if the side of the dough facing you is somewhat sticky...it only matters if the side touching the counter is sticky.
Gluten
On a related note, in order to understand why bread dough should be kneaded and why muffin batter should only be mixed gently, you might find it helpful to read my post on gluten. It explains what gluten is and how it should be handled in varying baking recipes.
Again, here are a few pointers for those of you who aren't interested in reading the whole post.
- Gluten is a protein in wheat that can develop into long, stretchy strands if it is moistened and mixed.
- Gluten development is very important for yeast breads, because a stretchy dough will hold the air bubbles the yeast makes as it grows. This is what causes bread to rise.
- Gluten development should be very minimal for breads that don't use yeast (muffins, pancakes, biscuits, cornbread, pumpkin bread). Thus, these batters/doughs should be mixed or kneaded as little as possible to ensure a soft, fluffy end product.
Beginner Yeast Baking Recipes
If you're a little nervous about your kneading techniques, here are a few recipes that are fairly easy. None of them are full-sized loaves, which means that they should turn out well even if you aren't the world's greatest kneader (full-sized loaves are more prone to rising/baking issues if the gluten is not developed well).
Honey Glazed Pan Rolls (this is what is pictured at the top of the post)
If you have any other burning questions about baking, do feel free to leave a comment or send me an email (the frugal girl {at} gmail {dot} com). And if you have a helpful tip about learning to knead, please do share in the comments.
Aha this explains some of my baking failures. I did find that I had significantly increased success with bread baking after I got my kitchen aid mixer, but I'm ready to dive back into hand kneading. I now know that I'm not kneading enough and adding way too much flour.
I guess I'm just really lucky. I pretty much consider myself the world's worst baker, because I don't actually do anything the way you're supposed to (almost always by accident). For example, I was making some rolls a few weeks ago, and realized after I set my (oddly stiff) dough aside to rise that I forgot to add the eggs! Rather than start over, I just added the eggs to what I had, and (very messily) created a much more workable dough. The rolls came out fine!
lol! I once made dough and got to the rising stage before I realized I'd forgotten the yeast. Whoops. I mixed some yeast with water and flour, kneaded it into the dough, and all was well.
If some some reason you got overzealous with the flour at mixing, oil your hands so you don't have to use as much flour in kneading.
Just wanted to thank you Kristen. Your bread making posts (last weeks Q&A in particular) have resulted in me returning my unopened bread machine this week - leaving me £50 better off and one less piece of kitchen equipment to store, clean and maintain! I have purchased the provisions for a bit of bread making old fashioned style and will be kneading away later this week. Fingers crossed!
p.s - What a workout the kneading will give your arms as well as the calories burned - all round a winner!
A great tip I learned as an assistant cook years ago, when I was making buns for 350 students at a time and now use it every time I make any dough, is to spray the counter (and your hands) with veg oil spray like Pam or whatever is your preference - no extra flour and nice stretchy dough without a mess on your hands!!
Love your blog by the way, have been following it for a couple of months now and am getting back into enjoying baking!! 🙂 My kids are loving it too! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I tried oiling the counter once before, but maybe I just put too much oil on the counter or something, because it was so slippery, I couldn't get any traction while kneading. The spray sounds like a better idea.
Fabulous Post! Thanks a bunch. Planning on doing some baking this weekend so the tips are quite timely for me. Keep up the great work. This site tops my must read list everyday.
Thank you...considering how many other blogs are out there, that means a lot!
My stand mixer does help a lot when it comes to not adding to much flour and ending up with stiff dough; however, I like to use the method you use, Kristen, where I mix my ingredients in the mixer and then knead by hand. I keep trying to flour only the counter but the dough keeps sticking to my hands and makes kneading really difficult. Should I grease my hands? Or maybe I'm not adding enough flour in the mixing stage? I would appreciate any suggestions you (or anyone!) might have?
You might need to add more flour in the mixer...does your dough look like mine does in the pictures? It should be soft, but not incredibly sticky.
My hands do always have a coating of dough/flour on them when I'm done kneading. You could try the cooking spray method mentioned above and see if that helps.
I never knead by hand. I guess I'm just lazy but my Kitchenaid has a dough hook for a reason, I figure. 🙂
Hey, if it works for you, then I'd say you shouldn't mess with perfection! As for me, my dough hook is still brand spanking new. I should probably sell it on Ebay or something. lol
I love reading your recipes and instructions but I confess that I usually use a no-knead recipe for my bread-making endeavors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
It's more economical because only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast is required.
Lately, I've been experimenting with replacing some of the flour with cooked quinoa to make it more healthful, and the quinoa actually makes it more appropriate for sandwiches.
Kristen thanks for the informative post. I have been a reader of your blog for a little while now and just recently decided to start a food blog myself (still in the design stage though!) Your posts on frugality and the wonderful bread pictures have been an inspiration to me.
I took a closer look at your pictures of French bread today before I made some and ended up adding about 2 extra tablespoons of flour before turning it out (taking me somewhere between 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 cups of flour). It turned out perfect! I sprayed my hands just a little too, but I don't think that would have been necessary. Thanks for the suggestions!
Whacking it does work. I do it all the time now.. I cant stand doing that shove push fold method. It traps more air into the dough and produces a more airy and light bread.. I just cant see reason in pushing dough around on itself... over stretching by slamming and folding over an arc to capture air.... if you see FRENCH KNEADING on youtube... I think you may see the results too
This is not terribly accurate information. Gluten is the formation of linkages between glutenin and gliadin. Kneading dough is not about "stretching gluten", it is about accelerating the rate at which these molecules collide and link to form the gluten chain.
Gluten development does increase elasticity which allows for an airy crumb, but this is not due to the yeast. Leavening the dough is a result of yeast activity (or other leavening agent), however yeast activity is inhibited by heat which kills them. Most air pocket formation during baking is a result of steam.
For a more accurate explanation of gluten development, refer to http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/whatisglutenandhowisitdeve.html
Thank you. I’m doing a yeasted cake recipe by Deborah Madison from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I recommend it highly. I think since I am mixing by soon I am not stirring it up sufficiently for it to rise. It is always spreading out and staying flat during the first 45 minute ride. It’s not proofing enough.
Maybe I need a machine with a hook. My arm gets tired. And the yeast is dead.