How do I knead bread?

How do I knead bread?

There are plenty of ways to knead bread.  And there are times when you don’t need to knead bread.  Recipes and personal style will guide you. 

If you want to knead, you can pin the bread down and push it away from you to stretch out the gluten.  You can pick it up and “air knead” by stretching it in the air over and over again (this takes very strong shoulder muscles).  You can knuckle it over and over again.  You can stretch and fold it. 

The thing to remember is that kneading helps to activate the gluten, stretching it out and making it easier for the dough to rise.  Click here to watch a little video on one way to knead bread.