November 01, 2006
Better with Bread
So, I've made bread three times now. The first was good, but just a bit dense. The second was much too crumbly...I made bread pudding out of most of it. But the third, now that's a gem. This time, I kneaded (according to Sandie's advice, which I verified with my cookbook) for about 5 minutes longer than I thought was sufficient and indeed, my dough became much more smoothe and elastic. (And according to my cookbook, it activates the gluten in the flour which gives the bread support against the gasses formed by the yeast and prevents collapse of the bread.) So, I've been quite happy with my bread making endeavors. I'm contemplating the purchase of one of those nifty stand mixers, but right now, this is the only workout my arms are getting, so I'll stick with the hand kneading!
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2 comments:
I hand kneaded something a few weeks ago just for the fun of it, and I found it also gave my belly muscles something to do. My arms don't need it. Ten years of carrying around babies have made me fairly strong and much less "dainty" than I used to be...but the belly, now, that's a different story!
I think the muscles used also depends on the height of your kneading surface. For instance, a higher surface may require the use of arm and belly muscles in order to create the correct amount of pressure, while a lower surface may use much less muscle (all kinds) because you can use gravity to help you knead. All in all, I feel very domestic and satisfied while kneading my bread dough.
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