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kneading by hand





If you have been frustrated with your breads, most likely it was not the because of the ingredients but with the way you mix the dough. When i was just starting to learn how to bake breads, i went around Bakery Trade and Food Expositions, talked to the big guys on the field and the most important thing i was told is to have a very good mixer.

But if you do not have one, is is possible to make breads at all? Yes, you can. You can knead your way to any kind of breads, as long as you develop the gluten. Most of my students would take an average of at least 25 minutes to a good 45 minutes to knead half a kilogram of dough.

When you knead, ignore the stickiness, do not rely always on the flour to remove the stickiness because once the gluten develops, this nasty stickiness will disappear. The dough should be smooth and elastic and i hate to say this, i have not encountered a student who kneaded his or her dough in under 25 minutes. Fine, you can bake your dough if you knead it in 10 minutes or so, but the quality of the bread will be dry and heavy, gummy and dry in just 2 days.

So for as long as the dough you are kneading is rough, keep kneading. Just think about saving money on your personal trainer, this is an excellent workout!!!
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