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My neighbor told me my sourdough was too dense. She was right.
She said it looked great but felt like a brick, and asked if I was really kneading it enough. I was doing 5 minutes by hand, thinking that was fine. I started using my stand mixer on low for a full 10 minutes instead, and the difference is huge. The crumb opened up completely after just two tries. Has anyone else had a kneading time tip that fixed a stubborn problem?
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grant4135mo ago
Yeah, that stretch and fold method is the only thing that works for my wet dough. I gave up on timed kneading years ago. It's all about watching the dough itself, not the clock. You want it to feel smooth and strong, not just beat it for a set number of minutes. Maybe the mixer just helped you get to that point faster, but the real fix was likely hitting the right dough development.
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dixon.mia5mo ago
Oh wow, I read that in a bread book once!
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riverb135mo ago
Wait you were only kneading for five minutes before? That's wild to me, my arms would be falling off trying to get a windowpane in that time. I guess the mixer just does the work way faster, but ten minutes on low sounds like a long mix for sourdough. I'm with Cameron, I'm scared of turning it into glue. Maybe your old way just wasn't enough to build any strength at all.
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garcia.cameron5mo ago
Honestly I'm surprised that worked for you. I've always been told you can over-knead sourdough really easy, especially with a mixer. My best loaves come from almost no kneading at all, just a bunch of stretch and folds during the first rise. Maybe your starter just needed more time to get strong, and the extra kneading wasn't the real fix.
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