How Easy is it to Overmix Bread Dough? Can you do it by Hand? - ChainBaker (2024)

FAQs

Can you overwork dough by hand? ›

Under-kneaded dough will break when stretching because the gluten is not well-developed. In this case, keep kneading. Over-kneaded dough will feel tight when stretching and break. If dough is over-kneaded, try letting your dough rest longer before shaping it to relax the gluten and improve the texture.

To knead dough by hand, start by squeezing with your hands to bring it together into a loose ball. Continue squeezing and pressing the dough together to pick up all of the flour in the bowl. As the dough comes together, rub the ball of dough against the inside of the bowl to pick up every last bit of flour.

If mixed too long the dough can become loose and sticky. The water that was absorbed by the flour gets released back into the dough and the gluten structure breaks down. After this there is no way to fix it. It will be a loose, soggy, and sticky mass unable to hold in fermentation gasses.

While some enjoy the rhythmic motion of kneading by hand, there are advantages to using a stand mixer. Using a stand mixer takes less time because you can mix and knead the dough in the same bowl. Machine kneading is also easier on the wrists and hands.

Tips for hand kneading. When hand kneading in the bowl, push the dough from the bottom upwards alternating between hands, then roll it back and repeat.

Some doughs take just 3–5 minutes, while others can take up to 10–15 minutes. For those longer knead times, if your arms are getting tired, feel free to pop the dough back into your stand mixer and use the dough hook for a few minutes to give your hands a break.

Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.

If the dough is overmixed to the point that it's leaching water and has become ropy, try this method: mix a half batch of dough, minus the salt. Allow your dough to autolyze for 20 minutes, then add the salt. Add this new dough to the overmixed dough, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Overkneaded dough will be tough and make tough, chewy bread. If you've kneaded by hand, you don't need to be too worried about overworked dough—you'll start to notice it getting difficult to manage. It takes a lot of elbow grease to knead bread dough; you'll likely tire yourself out before you can over-knead.

While some enjoy the rhythmic motion of kneading by hand, there are advantages to using a stand mixer. Using a stand mixer takes less time because you can mix and knead the dough in the same bowl. Machine kneading is also easier on the wrists and hands.

Is it possible to let dough rest too long? ›

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

– Shape the dough into a ball and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Hand press your ball into a disk, dusting with flour on both sides. -With a long and heavy rolling pin, roll out the ball into a circle by stretching as well as pressing down.