Bread Recipe Knead By Hand

There is no better place to start bread making than by kneading your dough by hand.  It gives you a real feel for the transformation that takes place when wheat flour and water are combined. Even if you use a stand mixer or food processor to mix your bread dough or even if you try the no-knead method, you will learn a great deal about bread making from kneading by hand at least once.

Place the water into a large bowl. Then add the yeast. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves, for about 5 minutes.

As the dough comes together, rub the ball of dough against the inside of the bowl to pick up every last bit of flour.

Basic White Bread (hand Kneaded)

Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly-floured work surface. Here I am working on a silicone baking mat that I’ve dusted lightly with flour.

Once the dough feels somewhat firm under your hand, start to slap it onto your work surface. This is noisy fun and effective. First lift up the ball of dough.

When kneading bread dough by hand, time is your friend. Cover the ball of dough with the bowl you mixed the dough in or a with a kitchen towel. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes.

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Once the dough feels smooth and springy, place it into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.

Let the dough ferment and rise in a draft-free place for the time suggested in your recipe. As it ferments, you may see moisture in the dough collect on the plastic.

Press gently on the dough using the fingers on one hand. You’ll see the dough deflate. I press from the outside egdes and gather the dough up into a ball as I am doing this.

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The siky dough can be rolled into any number of shapes. Here I am rolling it into a tight oblong shape to fit my loaf pan.Have you ever heard the saying “wetter is better” when it comes to bread dough? There’s no question that wetter, stickier dough can lead to a lighter, airier loaf, full of wonderful large and small holes (a.k.a. an open crumb). Artisan bakers can even get a little macho when it comes to water content, vying for higher and higher hydrations as a show of prowess. But for home bakers, kneading wet dough by hand can be a messy and frustrating experience.

I’m not one to endorse wet for wet’s sake, or to insist that no machine should ever touch my dough. However, a recipe like ciabatta bread requires quite a lot of water (high hydration) in order to achieve its light texture and plentiful holes. And if you don’t have a stand mixer or bread machine, this type of recipe can be particularly daunting.

In fact, one of our ciabatta recipes includes this caution in its tips section: “Because this dough is so soft, it's quite a challenge to knead it by hand... Please use an electric mixer or your bread machine to knead the dough.”

No Knead Bread

Quite a challenge? OK, maybe I have a teensy-weensy bit of macho baker in me, because I love a challenge! And besides, what if you’re a ciabatta lover who wants to try making the bread at home, and don't have a stand mixer or bread machine? That just doesn't seem fair!

Don't despair, all you wet-dough-fearing hand-kneaders out there! I'm here to teach you some valuable hand-kneading techniques that can help you tackle a high-hydration dough — and live to tell about it.

I practiced these techniques at a recent sourdough bread class I attended at our Baking School here in Vermont. If you've been thinking about taking a class, let me just say that there's no better place to get in touch with your dough-slinging skills! Our devoted baking instructors will set you on the path to success.

Soft Asian Milk Bread Hand Knead Method 牛奶麵包

I’ll make one batch of ciabatta following the recipe instructions for mixing in a stand mixer. For the ingredients and detailed instructions for this ciabatta recipe, please visit its recipe page.

The second batch of ciabatta will be mixed and kneaded entirely by hand. Our ciabatta recipe has a hydration level of 80% (the weight of the water compared to the weight of the flour). These hand-kneading techniques work quite well in the 67% to 80% range — as long as you don't mind getting a little messy.

The recipe calls for mixing this dough for 7 minutes with the paddle attachment on medium speed. I used speed 4 on my KitchenAid mixer. When finished, the dough looks soft, moist, and a bit shiny. It even balls around the paddle during the last few minutes of mixing.

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Look at how that dough stretches! See how the light shines through it in thin spots? This dough is passing the window pane test without even trying.

We'll cover this dough and let it rest for an hour while we tackle our hand-mixed and hand-kneaded batch of ciabatta dough.

While not absolutely necessary, a brief rest after mixing the ingredients can be helpful, giving the flour time to absorb the water and make the dough more manageable. Step #1 (below) will accomplish many of the same things that a rest does, so skip the rest if you're eager to get your hands on the dough (though I still do recommend a 20-minute rest).

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This step involves putting the dough on the work surface (without adding any flour to the table) and then simply cutting the dough into strips with a bench knife or dough scraper from one end of the dough to the other. Mound the dough up again and repeat for about 2 minutes.

According to Sharon O’Leary, one of our seasoned Baking School instructors, this method is useful because it allows you to work with a high-hydration dough without adding additional flour. It gives time for the flour to fully hydrate and helps make sure that all the ingredients are fully blended. It also seems to help align and create the gluten matrix.

While I haven’t been able to find a precise scientific explanation for what's going on here, cutting forces a productive restructuring of the gluten strands. Members of our King Arthur Flour Bakery team agree that simply trying to rip the dough apart, rather than providing a clean cut, doesn't yield the same positive effects.

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You can see as the process continues that the dough begins to gain strength and doesn't look quite so puddle-like in consistency. The cut pieces start to hold together better, showing signs that the internal structure is developing.

Here's the dough before and after the cutting process. It's not quite as wet and has a little more shape to it.

This step is referred to by various names: sometimes the “French method” of kneading, sometimes “slap and fold.” One bakery I worked at called this the “beaver slap.” It involves picking up the dough on one end with both hands, then lifting it up and letting it hang a bit as you gently slap it on the table in front of you. You then fold it over and pick it up again, from the same side you first lifted it.

A Beginners Guide: Easily Kneading Dough By Hand

I use the word gently when describing the slap, because I've been in baking classes where the students' dough slapping became so enthusiastic that hunks of sticky dough splattered on the ceiling, floor, and fellow bakers. Keep in mind that the slap is really more about the dough hanging in mid-air and providing a stretch, and not so much about the way it hits the table.

The first few rounds will leave part of the dough on the table, but as the gluten develops, the dough will begin to adhere more and more to itself and less to you and the table.

After a few minutes of slapping and folding the dough begins to act a little more like a cooperative hunk of dough and less like a defiant puddle.

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At this point, I like to switch to a one-handed method of slapping and folding. I hold the dough in one hand and the bench knife or dough scraper in the other. Each slap and fold is accompanied by a scoop and lift of the dough with the aid of my bench knife, so the work surface stays less sticky and the dough has less to adhere to. I find this method easier, but it can be tricky to hold the dough in one hand, so try both ways and see which way you prefer.

Even though this looks like a lengthy and labor-intense process, total kneading time from cutting to slapping only adds up to about 6 to 8 minutes.

Here’s the dough kneaded in the stand mixer (left) compared to the hand-kneaded dough (right). Our dough has made real progress, but wait until you see the changes time and folding bring about!

How To Knead Dough By Hand (step By Step) • Longbourn Farm

Here's our hand-kneaded dough after a 30-minute rise, and just prior to its first fold. Notice that it's already developed a smoother texture.

Folding is a tried and true method of gently continuing to develop dough strength, and is particularly useful when dealing with wet