Tips for Kneading
Kneading is as personal as your fingerprint, every single person handles the dough just a little bit differently. You are literally transferring your energy into your dough as you knead, the gluten strands stretching and holding that transferred energy, as the water and flour bind together, so it is secure enough to rise without collapsing.
Tips for Kneading:
- Stand square to your working surface, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent
- Stand up straight, tighten your core and relax your shoulders
- Knead from the shoulder using the entirety of your arms and hands
- Remember to breathe! It is very common for beginners to find themselves so fucused on the literal task at hand that they tense up and forget to breathe which is unhelpful for both you and your dough.
- While there are many ways to knead and lots of videos available that may help you learn this process, I've outlined below the steps most commonly used. Start slowly, you'll find yourself naturally increasing speed as you become more comfortable with the process.
Basic Beginning Steps:
- Using floured hands, fold your dough over on itself into the middle and towards yourself
- Rotate the dough a quarter turn of a full circle and repeat until you've folded in all four sides
- Using the palms and heels of your hands push down into the dough and away from your body
- Rotate the dough a quarter turn of a full circle, then fold your dough over on itself into the middle and towards yourself
- Repeat steps 3 and 4, for 5 min