Q&A for How to Knead Dough

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  • Question
    Why do I use a dough hook in baking?
    Emily Margolis
    Professional Baker
    Emily Margolis is a baking entrepreneur in Baltimore, MD. With over 15 years of baking experience, she founded Baking with Chef Emily in 2018, offering private baking lessons in the D.C. area.
    Professional Baker
    Expert Answer
    Dough hooks are used to knead bread dough. They are convenient to use, but many people prefer to knead by hand as a stress reliever.
  • Question
    Can I add baking powder to the dough?
    Emily Margolis
    Professional Baker
    Emily Margolis is a baking entrepreneur in Baltimore, MD. With over 15 years of baking experience, she founded Baking with Chef Emily in 2018, offering private baking lessons in the D.C. area.
    Professional Baker
    Expert Answer
    Breads made with baking powder are called quick breads and do not require kneading.
  • Question
    Is kneading dough with my hands the only way I can do it?
    Atinuke Soje
    Community Answer
    No, you can knead bread dough with an electric stand mixer or an electric hand mixer using the dough hook.
  • Question
    Should all purpose flour be used rather than self rising flour for yeast dough?
    Community Answer
    Although its not "bad" to use self rising flour together with yeast, for bread it's best to use normal flour, without rising agent. Just add salt, yeast and water. The yeast does the rising for the bread.
  • Question
    Can I use this kneading technique for pastry dough?
    Community Answer
    You don't want to knead pastry dough or your pastry will turn out very tough, and the heat from your hands will melt the butter in the dough, creating a greasy mess. Instead, once you've rubbed the flour and butter together, add water using a tablespoon until you're able to push and press the flour/butter/water combo together into a smooth, non-sticky ball with your hands.
  • Question
    How do I get my dough to hold it's shape?
    Community Answer
    Kneading it enough will lead to the dough holding its shape. If it's not holding, try kneading more or add more flour.
  • Question
    What causes the dough to break up into little pieces?
    Community Answer
    This usually means too much flour has been worked into the dough. Add a tablespoon of water and work it in, only one tablespoon at a time, until a soft, doughy texture is attained. If the dough is too wet/sticky, work in a little flour to return to the correct texture.
  • Question
    How do I preserve the bread?
    Community Answer
    While you can't really preserve bread for long, you could store it in a plastic bag, which helps it to retain moisture. Depending on your bread, it should stay relatively fresh for about a week. You could also freeze your bread.
  • Question
    Does this technique work for all breads or just certain ones?
    Qamar
    Top Answerer
    This technique works for all breads.
  • Question
    Do I not need milk or oil for making biscuits?
    Community Answer
    This is not a recipe, this is just a description of how to knead. Follow the ingredients in your recipe. If you don't have a recipe, you can see How to Make Easy Homemade Biscuits or look for a different one online.
  • Question
    If I am making cinnamon rolls, do I need to knead the dough?
    Community Answer
    Yes. If anything has yeast in it, it is good to knead it.
  • Question
    Should I put a towel on top of dough while waiting for it to rise?
    Chaeiekim0918
    Community Answer
    You can use a damp towel, but I personally prefer cling film, because I have had many occasions where the dough would stick to the towel.
  • Question
    Is butter not needed when baking bread?
    Community Answer
    You don't need butter, but you will need something (usually oil) to prevent sticking.
  • Question
    My biscuit mix says to knead 4 times, what does this mean?
    Qamar
    Top Answerer
    This means you'll punch down and knead the dough 4 times only, no more and no less than that amount.
  • Question
    What if a lot of dough gets caught in your hand even if it is without jewellery?
    Community Answer
    You can scrape it off in the flour and knead it along. Or, you can rub it off in the sink, apply oil or water on your hands and wash it off.
  • Question
    What does it mean when a recipe says to knead dough 10 times?
    Community Answer
    It means that you should make sure the dough is soft, firm and properly kneaded. Dough should be kneaded or pressed, stirred, mixed, softened. So, it can take 10 minutes or longer to get it right.
  • Question
    I was not able to bake all of my dough. How can I store it for the next day?
    Community Answer
    You can store it in an airtight container. Read How to Store Pizza Dough for complete steps.
  • Question
    Can I punch the dough with my fingertips?
    Community Answer
    Yes. All that matters is that the dough is kneaded well enough to make it even and soft.
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