Kneading dough not only mixes the ingredients, it also increases its elasticity, allowing the yeast to do its job, and leads to the formation of gluten, a binder that ensures bread does not fall apart during baking. Although necessary, kneading bread dough is a laborious process that will lead to sore wrists and an exhausted baker. A bread-dough hook, one of the attachments available for KitchenAid stand mixers, does the kneading for you to ensure your bread rises correctly and comes out chewy and delicious.
Pour all of the dry ingredients, including the yeast and minus 1 cup of flour, into the KitchenAid stand mixer's 5-qt. metal mixing bowl
Attach the KitchenAid stand mixer’s bread-dough hook attachment and raise the metal bowl by pulling the handle on the side of the machine to the up position. Turn mixer onto "Speed 2" for 15 to 30 seconds. This will initially mix all of the dry ingredients. Do not turn off the Speed 2 setting at this time.
Add all of the wet ingredients called for in the dough’s recipe to the mixing bowl slowly. Allow these liquids to blend into the dry ingredients for no more than two additional minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of the remaining white flour slowly to the bowl. Allow this first 1/2 cup to become well incorporated, and then add the second 1/2 cup of flour remaining.
Allow the bread hook to mix the dough for two minutes before turning off the machine and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Turn the KitchenAid stand mixer back to the Speed 2 setting and knead the bread dough until it begins to form a ball and adheres to the bread-dough hook. Once this occurs, continue to mix the dough at Speed 2 for an additional two minutes.
Turn off the KitchenAid mixer, pull the kneaded bread from the hook with your hand, deposit it into the bowl, and lower the bowl from the raised position by turning the metal handle on the side of the unit to the down position. The dough is kneaded and ready to be baked.
Writer Bio
Residing in Chippewa Falls, Wis., Jaimie Zinski has been writing since 2009. Specializing in pop culture, film and television, her work appears on Star Reviews and various other websites. Zinski is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in history at the University of Wisconsin.