So how do you know when the dough has been kneaded enough? First of all take a look at the pictures below, Bread that is done being kneaded, will have a smooth silky appearance, much like a babys skin. It will not be dimpled or have any kind of texture to it’s surface. However this does not work with all breads, there is another method that is fool proof for some breads, that is creating a window pane. Pull a piece of dough off, and gently pinch and pull the dough into a circle. Keep working it till it becomes very thin. If the dough is properly kneaded you will be able to pull it far enough out, that the stretched area, looks like a membrane, that you can see light thru. You can actually see the strands of gluten as you do this. If the dough tears before you can get it that thin, then knead it some more. This technique works fairly well on most breads. It works ok on whole wheat, but for doughs with a lot of whole grain or heavy ingredients in them it will not work as well.

Now for rising, remember, it is not about the time in the recipe, but how does your dough look? Take two fingers, and press them gently but firmly into the dough. It should leave an indent that does not spring back. That is when you know it has risen enough. Did you know that you can make a bread proofer out of your oven? Turn your oven to 250 then place a pan of water in there. On the bottom shelf. Let it heat for a few minutes then turn it off. Place your dough in the oven on the rack above the water, and allow to rise.

Once your dough has risen, punch it down, Knead it a few times, then leave it on the counter covered for about 5 minutes to rest. This just helps the gluten relax, for the next rise. Split your loaves up into pans, and allow to rise a second time. This time you really
Don’t want to poke your finger into it, to see if it is done, since it will be your finished product, so I judge by height, it the dough has risen to the edges of the cake pan, and the middle is peeking over the top that is when I usually put my bread in the oven. In this picture I did let it overproof a bit, but I dont mind, this loaf of bread will be light and fluffy,and wonderful. Whole wheat will not rise as much, so I try to get the middle of the loaf, to rise to the top of the pan.
If you like crust bread, put a pizza stone in your oven, and spritz the oven with a bit of water.
Lastly how do you tell when bread is done. Most people thump the top of the loaf, to see if it sounds hollow, but in my experience, unless you have a very accurate and even heating oven, this technique does not work well all the time. Another way to tell if the bread is ready is to gently slip it out of the pan, upside down, in a protected hand, and thump the bottom of the loaf, it it sounds hollow, is fairly stable, and a nice golden color it is most likely done.
This concludes this Bread baking lesson, I hope you learned something from it that you can use..

Next week we will cover, different types of breads, and some of things you need to know to use certain ingredients. We will cover whole wheat, in more depth, and we will talk about making dinner rolls, breadsticks, hamburger buns, and hot dog buns, all from the same recipe.