A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.
Last modified on: June 23th 2021
A few tips for effective kneading at home
Let's start with an observation: these mini-kneaders can handle all sorts of baking and preparation, and are no less effective, when it comes to making bread or viennoiseries, for working a dough using the dough hook.
In practice, if we simply tip all the ingredients into the bowl and start the machine going, of course it will knead, but not very efficiently: the dough will tend to wrap around the hook, risks overheating, etc., and the kneading time shown in the recipe may not be long enough as a result.
In short, it's much better to avoid these issues, so here are 4 basic tips.
It is important to stop the mixer after the first 3 or 4 minutes of kneading and go round the sides with a flexible dough scraper to get any remaining flour into the dough, then carry on kneading.
If you don't scrape the bowl, these bits will end up hardening. They may fall into the dough later, will not mix in properly and will leave unpleasant, hard lumps in the bread. Bonus: your bowl will be easier to wash up afterwards.
Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem: we need to stop the mixer frequently and unwrap the dough from around the hook, then start kneading again.
In practice, if we simply tip all the ingredients into the bowl and start the machine going, of course it will knead, but not very efficiently: the dough will tend to wrap around the hook, risks overheating, etc., and the kneading time shown in the recipe may not be long enough as a result.
In short, it's much better to avoid these issues, so here are 4 basic tips.
1. Ingredients in the right order
In all bread and pâtisserie recipes, we add all the ingredients to the bowl before starting to knead. Does the order in which they are added make any difference? Yes – we need to add the liquid first (water, milk, eggs, wine, etc.) and only then the flour and other dry ingredients. This helps the ingredients to start mixing straight away and makes the subsequent kneading more efficient.
2. Slow speed
Whatever brand of mixer you have, it is worth knowing that they always run too fast for effective bakery-style kneading. So we need to start on the slowest speed every time. It might not be perfect, but this comes fairly close to classic bakery kneading speed.
3. Scrape the bowl
After kneading for a few minutes, the mixture will begin to build the dough structure and form into a ball, which the hook will then turn and knead. But there will inevitably be some flour stuck around the sides of the bowl above the level of the mixed dough.It is important to stop the mixer after the first 3 or 4 minutes of kneading and go round the sides with a flexible dough scraper to get any remaining flour into the dough, then carry on kneading.
If you don't scrape the bowl, these bits will end up hardening. They may fall into the dough later, will not mix in properly and will leave unpleasant, hard lumps in the bread. Bonus: your bowl will be easier to wash up afterwards.
4. Stop the dough wrapping around the hook
After a few minutes of kneading, and especially if the dough is on the firm side, you will see it wrap itself around the hook. Once it is stuck like this, it can no longer be kneaded properly. This is the main disadvantage of kitchen mixers compared with proper bakery kneading machines. The movement of the dough hook is fairly minimal, so it ends up gathering the dough around itself.Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem: we need to stop the mixer frequently and unwrap the dough from around the hook, then start kneading again.
To sum up
It is possible to get good results using a mixer to knead bread dough, but there are 4 key points to watch: the order of the ingredients (liquid in the bowl first), the kneading speed (the slower the better), keeping the bowl clean (scrape the sides after a few minutes) and, lastly, the tendency of the dough to wrap itself around the hook (free up the hook at regular intervals).
Lasts posts
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20248195
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20241,0995
No need to boil gelatin
Gelatin is a magical ingredient for making light, creamy, structured desserts, yet it's often misused in the kitchen. A common mistake in some recipes is the idea that it needs to be boiled for it to work properly, but this is a mistake indeed: gelatin melts at a much lower temperature, around...November 21th 20241,2765
Your oven in "proofer" mode
In the bakery, proofing is a crucial stage in the process of making light, plump breads and pastries. During proofing, the yeast ferments the sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide which forms bubbles. This process allows the dough to swell and aerate, guaranteeing a soft, light...September 27th 20244,3355
The right size of zucchini
When you buy zucchini at the market, you're often offered a wide variety of sizes, from very small to very large. But which ones to choose? Here are a few tips.September 9th 20244,5215
Other pages you may also like
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.June 21th 201758 K 24.2
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .February 7th 2017124 K 14.1
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.February 15th 201875 K 24.3
The baker always gild twice
I've already told you about gilding, the beaten whole egg that is spread with a brush on anything that needs to brown in the oven: puff pastry, pastries, etc. and that professionals use a lot, I'm going to come back to this to clarify a bit how to do it, and give you a professional tip.June 9th 201930 K4.2
Stand mixer tools
Whether we call it a stand mixer, food processor, or simply refer to it by brand (Kenwood, KitchenAid, etc.), this machine is a valuable tool for amateur cooks, bakers or pastry chefs like ourselves. All these machines come supplied with 3 different tools. Let’s take a look at their names and...November 2nd 201933 K4.5
Follow this page (as 13 people already do)
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 2 comments already posted on this page
I've never seen a recipe with such detail and hints on every aspect of baking, ( the steaming of the oven was extremely helpful)
My loafs of bread were always flavorful, but the crust was like a rock : ).
I can't wait to bake a loaf of bread again and have a normal this crust.
May you be safe,