On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:02:51 GMT, Espressopithecus (Java
Man) >> wrote:

>I guess I've been under-kneading consistently.

Howdy,

I would suggest another way of thinking about the kneading
issue:

A number of books have been written that offer the "window
pane" as some sort of standard for the goal of "proper"
kneading, but, in reality there is much more to it.

When I want a very rustic "coarse" (that is, big irregular
holes in the crumb) loaf, I don't knead at all. Instead, I
just mix the ingredients to the point that I know there are
no pockets of dry flour. I then leave it, often for more
than 24 hours, in a cool place.

When I want a very fine crumb, for example when making what
the French call Pain de mie (it looks like Wonder bread, but
sure does not taste the same) I use a kneading approach very
similar to Mike's excellent suggestion.

Another thing you may have read is that it is somehow a
great success if a baker manages to get lots of "oven
spring." As you may know, that is the increase in loaf size
that sometimes happens during the bake.

The issue is similar in that for certain breads, an increase
in spring comes with a decrease in taste. Yet, in many
books, every suggestion seems geared toward increasing the
spring as if it represented an important virtue worthy of
any effort. It is as if, somehow, oven spring had become the
goal.

My point is that there is no single "best way" to knead (or
do much else when baking.) The fun, at least for me, is in
getting familiar with the diversity of results that can be
produced using the great variety of appropriate methods.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

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