Kneading Bread Dough

Kneading is the most important operation in making bread. It develops the gluten-induced elasticity of the dough and distributes the gas bubbles produced by the yeast so that the bread develops a close, even texture, becoming supple and smooth. Kneading is easier and more effective if you develop a regular, rhythmic action for pushing, peeling back and turning the dough.

There are two methods of kneading, one for firm doughs such as whole wheat or rye, the other for soft doughs such as brioche. Rich doughs, containing more eggs and butter than simple doughs, take longer to knead because the sugar and fat they contain appreciably slow down the development of gluten. The larger the batch of dough, the longer it will take to knead it to the right consistency.