Just read that most home bakers over-knead their dough by a huge amount

I was flipping through an old baking book from the library and it said a test showed people knead bread dough for an average of 15 minutes when it only needs about 8 to 10. They said the windowpane test is the real key, not the clock. I tried it yesterday with my basic white loaf and stopped at 9 minutes when it passed the test, and the crumb was way better than my usual bricks. Has anyone else cut their kneading time way down and seen a big change?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray81621d ago

What's the windowpane test look like for you?

lee62721d agoMost Upvoted

Remember trying that once with my grandma's old bread recipe. Ended up with dough so sticky it glued my fingers together, had to call my brother over to peel it off. The window was more like a broken windshield, all torn and ragged. We still baked it, came out dense as a brick. Good times.