Techniques | Paul Hollywood (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you don't knock back dough? ›

Letting the dough ferment for longer develops better flavour and texture. The built-up old carbon dioxide impairs fermentation. You may have noticed that after degassing the dough it starts fermenting more rapidly. If the dough is not knocked back the fermentation rate slows down as time goes by.

The idea of yeast may seem scary to first-time bakers. However, instant yeast is easy to buy, store and use. I always use 'fast-action' or 'easy-blend' yeast.

You can tell when the dough is ready by gently pressing it and seeing if it springs back. If the dough starts to crease and slump slightly, it has over-proved. If this is the case, knock it back and shape the dough again, and let it prove once more.

Lightly dust the work surface with plain flour. Lay your room-temperature dough on the surface. Stretch it away from you with the heel or knuckles of one hand and fold it back over the top towards you. Repeat the stretch and fold process again and again for 10 minutes.

That means your bread won't rise properly and you'll be left with a flat loaf. Hard to handle: If dough isn't kneaded or kneaded enough, it can remain sticky and difficult to work with, which can mean it's hard to shape.

In broad strokes, if a recipe calls for you to stir or knead the dough then let it rise undisturbed, go ahead and stir or knead but only to the point where ingredients are hom*ogeneous and you have a “shaggy mass.” At that point you can step away, returning to fold three to four times in the first hour of fermentation.

Some recipes have you “punch down” the dough one or two times. Some recipes do not have this step at all. If your recipe asks to do it, do it! From my experience making regular yeast breads, I punch down once after first rise and then once again before forming into loaves.

Fresh yeast, sometimes called cake yeast or compressed yeast, is a block of fresh yeast cells that contains about 70% moisture and is commonly used by baking professionals. It's pale beige in color, soft and crumbly with a texture similar to a soft pencil eraser, and has a stronger yeast smell than dry yeast.

For recipes like banana bread, lemon loaf, or pound cake, your best bet is to bake in a metal loaf pan. Metal is a quick and efficient conductor of heat. This helps to ensure your recipe will cook through the center and not collapse.

Is it better to roll out pizza dough cold or room temp? ›

Bring your dough to room temperature.

Before you begin stretching, warm up your cold dough for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Gluten, the protein that makes pizza dough chewy, is tighter in cold conditions like the fridge, which is why cold pizza dough will stretch out and snap back just like a rubber band.

Don't let it rise for too long, though.

Though a long and slow rise is beneficial for flavor and texture, you can run into issues if you allow your pizza dough to rest for too long.

Though it's important to knead your dough thoroughly, it's not necessary to knead your dough for long. We recommended kneading your dough for about 4 to 6 minutes! Over-kneading your dough will create a fine, crumb-like texture, giving your dough a bready texture rather than a light and airy pizza crust.

Cuisinart CBK-110 Compact Automatic Bread Maker

We particularly appreciated the mixing and kneading feature in this machine, which brought all the ingredients together swiftly and developed great dough strength through a series of rests between kneading cycles.

It slows yeast activity, giving enzymes time to break down starches that contribute sweet notes to the bread's flavor and improve browning.

The proper kneading of dough incorporates air, distributes ingredients, and, most important, develops gluten, which gives yeasted bread chew.