I finally realized I was kneading bread all wrong for 10 years

I always kneaded on a floured counter like my grandma did, but my loaves came out dense every time. Last month I watched a video where the baker just wet her hands instead of adding flour, and suddenly my dough actually rose. Anybody else have a basic technique they messed up forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley_hart5d ago

Oh man, that "wet hands instead of adding flour" thing hit me hard. I did the exact same thing for years, flouring the counter like my grandmother showed me, and wondering why my ciabatta came out like a brick. It's crazy how one little change like not dusting with extra flour can totally transform the crumb and rise. I finally learned to just keep a bowl of water nearby and dip my hands in every time the dough gets sticky. Now my loaves actually puff up in the oven instead of sitting there dense and sad. Feels like we were both sabotaging ourselves for a decade.

grant.richard5d ago

That thing about wet hands instead of flour is exactly what my buddy Tom figured out last year. He had been making pizza dough for like fifteen years and it always came out tough, then he tried the wet hands trick and his pizzas have been amazing ever since. He was pretty mad about all those years of bad dough.