What is the purpose and effect of using knuckles when kneading bread dough?
Some recipes specify that the baker's knuckles should be used when kneading the dough. What is the purpose and effect of using one's knuckles as part of the kneading process?
bread kneading
add a comment |
Some recipes specify that the baker's knuckles should be used when kneading the dough. What is the purpose and effect of using one's knuckles as part of the kneading process?
bread kneading
add a comment |
Some recipes specify that the baker's knuckles should be used when kneading the dough. What is the purpose and effect of using one's knuckles as part of the kneading process?
bread kneading
Some recipes specify that the baker's knuckles should be used when kneading the dough. What is the purpose and effect of using one's knuckles as part of the kneading process?
bread kneading
bread kneading
asked Jan 11 at 14:31
KnightKnight
1106
1106
add a comment |
add a comment |
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
I don't think that it is really necessary to use your knuckles. Rather, there are ways to knead dough well, and ways to knead dough badly. I have seen ineffective people pinching the dough, or turning it between their hands, or other strange motions, which in a cargo-cult way resemble actual kneading, but don't do anything useful.
My guess is that whoever writes such instructions has learned a correct way of kneading that involves the knuckles, and writes down the admonishment to remind people that they have to do it right for the recipe to work well. The reason for the choice of label may be because the author is unaware that there are effective kneading methods which don't use the knuckles, or because the author has taught new kneaders and has found out that "use your knuckles" is a good cue to get them to use the right kind of motion.
A third possibility is that the author is referring specifically to the punching down step of a double-rise bread process. In that case, the motion between the first and second rise is not the same as standard kneading, and maybe the author wanted to underscore the difference.
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
add a comment |
This may not be the primary reason but I have hot hands and my knuckles are noticeably cooler than my palms or even the insides of my fingers. It's less of an issue with dough than with pastry but I still find that kneading with my palms makes the dough sticky compared to using my knuckles.
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
add a comment |
The writer is telling you a method for kneading. They can't the skill level of the user.
This is from my knowledge not books:
- Fingers only give 8 points of impression, which is a small area.
- Fingernails can leave bacteria. Although some modern cooks wear
gloves to protect food. - Using fingertips can cause injury to fingers nerves.
- It is a more efficient to use knuckles.
- It is less likely to remove gloves stuck to the dough (wrapping
fingers tightly into a fist helps to hold gloves on)
This way a camper in the woods as well as a chef with nice equipment
can get the same results.
add a comment |
Maybe knuckles impart more force compared to just using extended fingers (or the palm of your hands) when kneading the dough ?
I assume the "use knuckles" step is when you punch the dough after the first rise; it is just easier.
add a comment |
It might be intended to make kneading easier on one's wrists, especially for persons with weak wrists or joint problems.
When you knead with your palms, they are bent close to 90 degrees backward, which puts additional stress on the joints and ligaments. When you knead with your fists (knuckles) your wrists are (or should be) straight, which allows you to apply more force without stressing the joint. This will be especially beneficial if you knead a lot of dough (or for long time).
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "49"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fcooking.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f95557%2fwhat-is-the-purpose-and-effect-of-using-knuckles-when-kneading-bread-dough%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
I don't think that it is really necessary to use your knuckles. Rather, there are ways to knead dough well, and ways to knead dough badly. I have seen ineffective people pinching the dough, or turning it between their hands, or other strange motions, which in a cargo-cult way resemble actual kneading, but don't do anything useful.
My guess is that whoever writes such instructions has learned a correct way of kneading that involves the knuckles, and writes down the admonishment to remind people that they have to do it right for the recipe to work well. The reason for the choice of label may be because the author is unaware that there are effective kneading methods which don't use the knuckles, or because the author has taught new kneaders and has found out that "use your knuckles" is a good cue to get them to use the right kind of motion.
A third possibility is that the author is referring specifically to the punching down step of a double-rise bread process. In that case, the motion between the first and second rise is not the same as standard kneading, and maybe the author wanted to underscore the difference.
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
add a comment |
I don't think that it is really necessary to use your knuckles. Rather, there are ways to knead dough well, and ways to knead dough badly. I have seen ineffective people pinching the dough, or turning it between their hands, or other strange motions, which in a cargo-cult way resemble actual kneading, but don't do anything useful.
My guess is that whoever writes such instructions has learned a correct way of kneading that involves the knuckles, and writes down the admonishment to remind people that they have to do it right for the recipe to work well. The reason for the choice of label may be because the author is unaware that there are effective kneading methods which don't use the knuckles, or because the author has taught new kneaders and has found out that "use your knuckles" is a good cue to get them to use the right kind of motion.
A third possibility is that the author is referring specifically to the punching down step of a double-rise bread process. In that case, the motion between the first and second rise is not the same as standard kneading, and maybe the author wanted to underscore the difference.
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
add a comment |
I don't think that it is really necessary to use your knuckles. Rather, there are ways to knead dough well, and ways to knead dough badly. I have seen ineffective people pinching the dough, or turning it between their hands, or other strange motions, which in a cargo-cult way resemble actual kneading, but don't do anything useful.
My guess is that whoever writes such instructions has learned a correct way of kneading that involves the knuckles, and writes down the admonishment to remind people that they have to do it right for the recipe to work well. The reason for the choice of label may be because the author is unaware that there are effective kneading methods which don't use the knuckles, or because the author has taught new kneaders and has found out that "use your knuckles" is a good cue to get them to use the right kind of motion.
A third possibility is that the author is referring specifically to the punching down step of a double-rise bread process. In that case, the motion between the first and second rise is not the same as standard kneading, and maybe the author wanted to underscore the difference.
I don't think that it is really necessary to use your knuckles. Rather, there are ways to knead dough well, and ways to knead dough badly. I have seen ineffective people pinching the dough, or turning it between their hands, or other strange motions, which in a cargo-cult way resemble actual kneading, but don't do anything useful.
My guess is that whoever writes such instructions has learned a correct way of kneading that involves the knuckles, and writes down the admonishment to remind people that they have to do it right for the recipe to work well. The reason for the choice of label may be because the author is unaware that there are effective kneading methods which don't use the knuckles, or because the author has taught new kneaders and has found out that "use your knuckles" is a good cue to get them to use the right kind of motion.
A third possibility is that the author is referring specifically to the punching down step of a double-rise bread process. In that case, the motion between the first and second rise is not the same as standard kneading, and maybe the author wanted to underscore the difference.
answered Jan 11 at 15:38
rumtscho♦rumtscho
81k27189354
81k27189354
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
add a comment |
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
3
3
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
Or they're a knucklehead.
– Rob
Jan 13 at 4:09
add a comment |
This may not be the primary reason but I have hot hands and my knuckles are noticeably cooler than my palms or even the insides of my fingers. It's less of an issue with dough than with pastry but I still find that kneading with my palms makes the dough sticky compared to using my knuckles.
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
add a comment |
This may not be the primary reason but I have hot hands and my knuckles are noticeably cooler than my palms or even the insides of my fingers. It's less of an issue with dough than with pastry but I still find that kneading with my palms makes the dough sticky compared to using my knuckles.
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
add a comment |
This may not be the primary reason but I have hot hands and my knuckles are noticeably cooler than my palms or even the insides of my fingers. It's less of an issue with dough than with pastry but I still find that kneading with my palms makes the dough sticky compared to using my knuckles.
This may not be the primary reason but I have hot hands and my knuckles are noticeably cooler than my palms or even the insides of my fingers. It's less of an issue with dough than with pastry but I still find that kneading with my palms makes the dough sticky compared to using my knuckles.
answered Jan 11 at 14:49
Chris HChris H
19.5k13558
19.5k13558
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
add a comment |
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
4
4
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
Often times its advantageous as the heat from the hand and kinetic energy raised the temperature of the dough which encourages yeast and gluten development when making bread.
– Jay
Jan 13 at 4:01
add a comment |
The writer is telling you a method for kneading. They can't the skill level of the user.
This is from my knowledge not books:
- Fingers only give 8 points of impression, which is a small area.
- Fingernails can leave bacteria. Although some modern cooks wear
gloves to protect food. - Using fingertips can cause injury to fingers nerves.
- It is a more efficient to use knuckles.
- It is less likely to remove gloves stuck to the dough (wrapping
fingers tightly into a fist helps to hold gloves on)
This way a camper in the woods as well as a chef with nice equipment
can get the same results.
add a comment |
The writer is telling you a method for kneading. They can't the skill level of the user.
This is from my knowledge not books:
- Fingers only give 8 points of impression, which is a small area.
- Fingernails can leave bacteria. Although some modern cooks wear
gloves to protect food. - Using fingertips can cause injury to fingers nerves.
- It is a more efficient to use knuckles.
- It is less likely to remove gloves stuck to the dough (wrapping
fingers tightly into a fist helps to hold gloves on)
This way a camper in the woods as well as a chef with nice equipment
can get the same results.
add a comment |
The writer is telling you a method for kneading. They can't the skill level of the user.
This is from my knowledge not books:
- Fingers only give 8 points of impression, which is a small area.
- Fingernails can leave bacteria. Although some modern cooks wear
gloves to protect food. - Using fingertips can cause injury to fingers nerves.
- It is a more efficient to use knuckles.
- It is less likely to remove gloves stuck to the dough (wrapping
fingers tightly into a fist helps to hold gloves on)
This way a camper in the woods as well as a chef with nice equipment
can get the same results.
The writer is telling you a method for kneading. They can't the skill level of the user.
This is from my knowledge not books:
- Fingers only give 8 points of impression, which is a small area.
- Fingernails can leave bacteria. Although some modern cooks wear
gloves to protect food. - Using fingertips can cause injury to fingers nerves.
- It is a more efficient to use knuckles.
- It is less likely to remove gloves stuck to the dough (wrapping
fingers tightly into a fist helps to hold gloves on)
This way a camper in the woods as well as a chef with nice equipment
can get the same results.
edited Jan 13 at 3:39
bruglesco
2,1761619
2,1761619
answered Jan 13 at 1:07
user72079user72079
412
412
add a comment |
add a comment |
Maybe knuckles impart more force compared to just using extended fingers (or the palm of your hands) when kneading the dough ?
I assume the "use knuckles" step is when you punch the dough after the first rise; it is just easier.
add a comment |
Maybe knuckles impart more force compared to just using extended fingers (or the palm of your hands) when kneading the dough ?
I assume the "use knuckles" step is when you punch the dough after the first rise; it is just easier.
add a comment |
Maybe knuckles impart more force compared to just using extended fingers (or the palm of your hands) when kneading the dough ?
I assume the "use knuckles" step is when you punch the dough after the first rise; it is just easier.
Maybe knuckles impart more force compared to just using extended fingers (or the palm of your hands) when kneading the dough ?
I assume the "use knuckles" step is when you punch the dough after the first rise; it is just easier.
answered Jan 11 at 15:30
MaxMax
9,59211827
9,59211827
add a comment |
add a comment |
It might be intended to make kneading easier on one's wrists, especially for persons with weak wrists or joint problems.
When you knead with your palms, they are bent close to 90 degrees backward, which puts additional stress on the joints and ligaments. When you knead with your fists (knuckles) your wrists are (or should be) straight, which allows you to apply more force without stressing the joint. This will be especially beneficial if you knead a lot of dough (or for long time).
add a comment |
It might be intended to make kneading easier on one's wrists, especially for persons with weak wrists or joint problems.
When you knead with your palms, they are bent close to 90 degrees backward, which puts additional stress on the joints and ligaments. When you knead with your fists (knuckles) your wrists are (or should be) straight, which allows you to apply more force without stressing the joint. This will be especially beneficial if you knead a lot of dough (or for long time).
add a comment |
It might be intended to make kneading easier on one's wrists, especially for persons with weak wrists or joint problems.
When you knead with your palms, they are bent close to 90 degrees backward, which puts additional stress on the joints and ligaments. When you knead with your fists (knuckles) your wrists are (or should be) straight, which allows you to apply more force without stressing the joint. This will be especially beneficial if you knead a lot of dough (or for long time).
It might be intended to make kneading easier on one's wrists, especially for persons with weak wrists or joint problems.
When you knead with your palms, they are bent close to 90 degrees backward, which puts additional stress on the joints and ligaments. When you knead with your fists (knuckles) your wrists are (or should be) straight, which allows you to apply more force without stressing the joint. This will be especially beneficial if you knead a lot of dough (or for long time).
edited Jan 24 at 0:24
answered Jan 13 at 16:05
mustacciomustaccio
1567
1567
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Seasoned Advice!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fcooking.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f95557%2fwhat-is-the-purpose-and-effect-of-using-knuckles-when-kneading-bread-dough%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown