A retired baker in Tulsa showed me the windowpane test last month and my dough has never looked better
I've been baking sourdough at home for about two years and always struggled with knowing when to stop kneading. Last month my wife's uncle, who ran a small bakery in Tulsa for 30 years before retiring, watched me work a batch and asked if I ever did the windowpane test. I admitted I'd heard of it but never really tried it, so he took a golf ball sized piece of my dough and stretched it between his thumbs until it went thin enough to see light through without tearing. He said that's when gluten is ready and if it tears right away it needs another 2 or 3 minutes of work. I started doing it on every loaf since and my crumb has opened up a lot, no more dense middles. Curious if other home bakers here rely on the windowpane or just go by feel and time instead?