Don’t be too kneady

Kneading means working or mixing a dough by pressing, folding, and turning it on a lightly floured surface. In traditional baking, kneading is essential to activate the gluten protein in a dough. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about activating gluten (and indeed, are in trouble if there’s gluten present)—so our doughs require very little kneading, saving time and elbow grease. In this chapter, you’ll be instructed to knead the yeast-risen Biscuit Blend doughs to get the dough to the ideal texture so you can properly shape it into its respective forms. I always tell my students that over-kneading gluten-free dough is like adding too much salt; overkneading will result in too much flour being incorporated into the dough, and the moment this occurs, that delicate texture you’re looking for will turn into below-code concrete—yes, it’s soft, but it’s not exactly tender. The same thing goes for salt—you can always add more, but once it’s too salty, you’re pretty much done for.