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Why should bread be kneaded before rising?

If I knead bread after the first rise what difference will it make?

Stephie
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One Face
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  • Have you checked [this](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/7808/kneading-before-or-after-rising?rq=1), and [this](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/46583/what-happens-when-you-knead-bread-dough?rq=1)? – Stephie Dec 09 '15 at 07:18
  • @Stephie thanks for the link. I did this using Mobile which did not show similar questions. Sorry for that. – One Face Dec 10 '15 at 03:37
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    You can knead the dough after bulk fermentation. In fact by mixing it you will allow the yeast to access more of the sugars. Of course allow some time to rise between the last kneading and the baking. – Thomas Ahle Feb 12 '21 at 23:19

1 Answers1

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The purpose of kneading is to develop gluten in the dough. Gluten is made of long strands of protein — it makes the dough stretchy, so it can contain the bubbles created by the yeast or sourdough culture, enabling the dough to rise. Therefore, you need to knead before rising.

If you knead the dough again after its first rise, you'll destroy many of the bubbles and your dough will become flat and dense. Most recipes call for a "forming" step after the first rise — this should be done gently, so as to keep as many of those bubbles in the dough as possible. This will keep your bread light, with a nice open crumb.

ElmerCat
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    Thanks for the answer. So kneading after rising will not leave enough sugar for yeast to act on and release enough gas for a thorough second rise? – One Face Dec 10 '15 at 03:41
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    There's two different actions happening here. Again, kneading creates the gluten that enables the dough to contain gas bubbles. Without gluten, the dough would act like a porous paper towel - you can blow air right through it. With gluten, the dough acts like a rubber balloon - adding air will cause it to inflate. So, you want to create all the gluten at the very beginning. — It's not that a second kneading will deplete the sugar, it's just that the dough can only rise so much in total. You don't want to destroy everything it accomplished in that first rise by kneading away all the bubbles. – ElmerCat Dec 10 '15 at 04:29
  • You can try an experiment and do it both ways. Mix up a batch of dough and after kneading, separate it into two pieces. After the first rise, very gently fold and form one piece into a loaf. Knead the second piece of dough to your heart's desire, and then form it into a loaf. Let the two loaves rise a second time, and bake them. See what happens. – ElmerCat Dec 10 '15 at 04:39
  • " I like kneading. It makes my hands nice and clean! " – ElmerCat Dec 10 '15 at 04:46