- Kneading
:"For kneading of clay, see wedging"Kneading is a process in the making of
bread , used to mix together the ingredients and add strength to the bread. Its importance lies in the mixing offlour withwater . When these two ingredients are combined and kneaded, thegliadin andglutenin proteins in the flour expand and form strands ofgluten , which gives bread its texturecite web |title=Scientific Insight into Breadmaking |accessdate=2007-06-12 |url=http://www.zum.de/earthquake/bread.html] . (To aid gluten production, many recipes use breadflour , which is higher in protein than all-purpose flour.) The kneading process warms and stretches these gluten strands, eventually creating a springy and elastic dough. If the dough is not kneaded enough, it will not be able to hold the tiny pockets of air (CO2) created by theleavening agent (such asyeast orbaking powder ), and will collapse, leaving a heavy and dense loaf.Kneading can be performed with a
breadmaker , a mixer, a dough hook or by hand. The dough (which usually consists of flour,salt , water,fat and yeast) is put on a floured surface, pressed and stretched with the heel of the hand, folded over, and rotated through 90º repeatedly. This process continues until the dough is elastic and smooth. The dough can then be allowed to rise or "prove".Similar to kneading is knocking back or punching down, which is done to the dough after proving. The dough is punched once or twice, after which it is kneaded gently for a short time. The aim of this is to remove any large air pockets which have formed in the dough, create an even texture in the bread and redistribute the nutrients for the yeast, thus allowing fermentation to continue. The dough can then be proved a second time. Another method of knocking back (also known as "folding") is to gently stretch and pat out the proved dough before folding the sides in towards the centre.
Footnotes
ee also
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Rolling pin External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Br17PIUhQ&feature=related Short video of kneading machine in a bakery.]
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