Knocking Back

After doubling in size the dough should be knocked back. This smoothes out any large air pockets and will give your bread an even texture. Simply punch the dough in the bowl to deflate it, turn it out onto the work surface and knead briefly, 1–2 minutes is usually sufficient.

If the recipe calls for them, any additions to the dough should be done at this point – you can easily do the working in and knocking back at the same time. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and stretch it out, scatter over the additions, gather up the dough and knead lightly to knock it back and incorporate the extra ingredients simultaneously. Now the dough is ready for shaping.