Try the windowpane test when kneading dough - Green Park (2024)

FAQs

Try the windowpane test when kneading dough - Green Park? ›

Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.

When you under-knead bread or pizza dough, the dough will not pass the windowpane test. This will cause the final product to not turn out with the texture that you are looking for.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The windowpane test isn't “pass or fail;” it simply tells you what stage the dough's at in its development, with your goal being dough that's perfectly developed — its gluten at full strength — just before it's shaped.

The dough should also pass the windowpane test. The windowpane test is when you stretch a piece of the dough between your fingers until it's thin enough to see light through before the dough tears.

The overworked dough will often feel tight and tough. This means that liquid molecules have been damaged and won't stretch properly, causing the bread to break and tear more easily. Conversely, a dough that is underworked will be harder to form into a ball shape.

A failure to knead dough (unless you're working with a no-knead recipe) can lead to: Poor gluten development: When you don't knead bread, the gluten won't form properly. This can result in a lack of elasticity and strength, meaning your final product is likely to come out of the oven dense and heavy.

Kneading length varies greatly in yeast bread recipes. 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.

The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour—all the ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test. If the dough seems to dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading.

Smooth Dough – The dough will start out looking like a shaggy, lumpy mass and will gradually smooth out as you knead. By the time you finish, it should be completely smooth and slightly tacky to the touch. 2. Holds Its Shape – Lift the ball of dough in your hand and hold it in the air for a second.

Perhaps the best way to tell if your bread dough is properly kneaded is the windowpane test. To do this, tear off a chunk of dough and stretch it between your fingers. If the dough tears, you haven't developed enough gluten and it needs more kneading.

Why does kneading take so long? ›

Hydration Level: High-hydration doughs (doughs with a higher water ratio to flour) can take longer to knead because they are more sticky and challenging to work with.

Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.

To knead cinnamon roll dough, fold the dough over and push down with the heel of your hand. Turn, fold dough over, and push down again. Repeat this process over and over. You know the dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic.

Most recipes call for 4-6 sets of stretch and folds with 30-minute rests. I always do at least 4 sets. After the fourth set, I assess how the dough feels. If it is holding is shape well and feels silky and supple, I assess if it needs more handling.

Cold proofing your dough for at least 5 hours before you attempt to score your bread can help to make it easier to score. Of course if your bread is over or under fermented, this may not work, but in general, cold dough is much easier to score than room temperature.

Yeast is too hot Yeast may have been dissolved in water that was too hot, or the liquid ingredients in the recipe may be too hot, causing the yeast to die. Yeast needs to be warm - not too hot, not too cold. Yeast is too cold If the other ingredients are too cold, it could cause some of the yeast to die.

The oven temperature is off: Usually it's running too hot, and the outside looks brown before the center is baked through. But a low oven temperature can fool you too– you think you've baked long enough, but it's actually running 50 degrees too cool.