Q&A for How to Knead Dough

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.

Breads made with baking powder are called quick breads and do not require kneading.

No, you can knead bread dough with an electric stand mixer or an electric hand mixer using the dough hook.

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.

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.

Kneading it enough will lead to the dough holding its shape. If it's not holding, try kneading more or add more flour.

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.

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.

This technique works for all breads.

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.

Yes. If anything has yeast in it, it is good to knead it.

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.

You don't need butter, but you will need something (usually oil) to prevent sticking.

This means you'll punch down and knead the dough 4 times only, no more and no less than that amount.

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.

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.

You can store it in an airtight container. Read How to Store Pizza Dough for complete steps.

Yes. All that matters is that the dough is kneaded well enough to make it even and soft.