My dough won't get strechy. It rips and tears when I pull on it. It doesn't affect the taste or rise, but it bothers me anyway. What am I doing wrong? Am I not kneading long enough?
A lot more info is needed before any constructive answers or help can be given. Not just a recipe but the actual techniques you use to make your dough. The type of flour, the amount of flour and water, how is it leavened (sourdough,yeast) , how long and at what temp it is fermented, is it kneaded or do you use stretch and fold, how do you shape,how do you proof?
These are all different categories that can have an effect on why bread dough is stiff and won't stretch. I would love to help but I need a lot more info-don't be intimidated. Bread is much more about techniques than just ingredients. This is a great place to learn about that.
A little more water may be called for as a first suggestion. Is the dough at all tacky when you are done kneading?(like a postit note) . The right amount of water will make a sticky dough at first(messy-sticks to the fingers) that becomes a tacky dough (doesn't coat the fingers).
Then, as lazybaker suggests, knead and let it relax for a short time and then check if you can get a windowpane effect if you stretch the dough thin. Gluten tightens up when it is handled and needs to relax to allow it to stretch.The windowpane should stretch thin to about 1-2 inches before breaking.
Is there any salt in this recipe?When do you add it? At the initial mix?
Do you use a sponge soak or any other sort of premix or preferment?Do you hold or retard the dough in any way (overnight in the refrigerator?)
Do you rise it to double? How long does that take usually? Do you rise it once or twice before shaping?
How do you shape? In a loaf pan? Boule? Batard?
How long do you proof and how do you check it is done proofing?
Other than the tearing, the text is good and tacky. The resting doesn't work. It tears while it's baking.
It doubles very quickly since the weather is warmer now. I let it rise the second time in the loaf pans. I don't proof. I bought a proofing basket but the dough sticks to it too much. So I don't use it anymore
If it tears during baking, then it was probably underproofed. It sounds like the dough developed a lot of gluten during kneading, so much to the point that it couldn't be stretched. It is possible. Maybe don't knead the dough so much and/or allow proofing to be longer to relax the gluten.
Thanks. I let it rest so long on this latest batch. And it was stretchier. However, it tore even worse during baking. I'm at a complete lose here. This is driving me insane.
I'm baking Julia Child's white sandwich bread. And I knead by hand. I don't know if that makes a difference? But I need the heck out of it because I have to work in butter.
A lot more info is needed before any constructive answers or help can be given. Not just a recipe but the actual techniques you use to make your dough. The type of flour, the amount of flour and water, how is it leavened (sourdough,yeast) , how long and at what temp it is fermented, is it kneaded or do you use stretch and fold, how do you shape,how do you proof?
These are all different categories that can have an effect on why bread dough is stiff and won't stretch. I would love to help but I need a lot more info-don't be intimidated. Bread is much more about techniques than just ingredients. This is a great place to learn about that.
Regular sandwich bread, king arthur apf, yeast, 2.5 cups warm water, 7 cups flour. I knead.
Assuming 1 cup of water = 225g, 1 cup of flour = 135g, and assuming no further liquid ingredients, you have
Water: 562g
Flour: 945g.
This makes a hydration level of 59% - this is more typical for bagel dough.
Sandwich dough should be in the region of 68%, or translated in to cupsof water for your amount of flour: 2.9 cups, or 3 cups less 3 tbs.
Cheers,
Juergen
Let the dough relax for 15 minutes or more. Then stretch a piece of dough to see if it forms a thin membrane.
It's difficult to stretch the dough immediately after kneading it because the gluten is being developed.
A little more water may be called for as a first suggestion. Is the dough at all tacky when you are done kneading?(like a postit note) . The right amount of water will make a sticky dough at first(messy-sticks to the fingers) that becomes a tacky dough (doesn't coat the fingers).
Then, as lazybaker suggests, knead and let it relax for a short time and then check if you can get a windowpane effect if you stretch the dough thin. Gluten tightens up when it is handled and needs to relax to allow it to stretch.The windowpane should stretch thin to about 1-2 inches before breaking.
Is there any salt in this recipe?When do you add it? At the initial mix?
Do you use a sponge soak or any other sort of premix or preferment?Do you hold or retard the dough in any way (overnight in the refrigerator?)
Do you rise it to double? How long does that take usually? Do you rise it once or twice before shaping?
How do you shape? In a loaf pan? Boule? Batard?
How long do you proof and how do you check it is done proofing?
All this info would be very helpful.
Other than the tearing, the text is good and tacky. The resting doesn't work. It tears while it's baking.
It doubles very quickly since the weather is warmer now. I let it rise the second time in the loaf pans. I don't proof. I bought a proofing basket but the dough sticks to it too much. So I don't use it anymore
If it tears during baking, then it was probably underproofed. It sounds like the dough developed a lot of gluten during kneading, so much to the point that it couldn't be stretched. It is possible. Maybe don't knead the dough so much and/or allow proofing to be longer to relax the gluten.
Thanks. I let it rest so long on this latest batch. And it was stretchier. However, it tore even worse during baking. I'm at a complete lose here. This is driving me insane.
I'm baking Julia Child's white sandwich bread. And I knead by hand. I don't know if that makes a difference? But I need the heck out of it because I have to work in butter.