Mixing and Kneading

Besides water, gluten requires mixing or kneading for development. Mixing promotes gluten development in several ways. First, it speeds up hydration (absorption of water) by exposing new surfaces of flour particles to water. This continues until flour particles are worn down in size and no longer spherical. Mixing also incorporates oxygen from the air into dough, which oxidizes and strengthens gluten. Finally, mixing distributes the particles evenly throughout the dough, so that ultimately a strong, continuous gluten network forms.