What happens if you handle pastry dough too much?
You can’t really undo the damage of over-worked gluten, but the longer rise can get the dough to relax a little. Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior. Slices will be very crumbly, especially toward the middle.
Can you over Knead pastry dough?
Overworked dough can happen when using a stand mixer. Dough will feel “tight” and tough, as the gluten molecules have become damaged, meaning that it won’t stretch, only break, when you try to pull or roll it. Over kneaded dough can’t be fixed and will result in a rock-hard loaf, so be careful with this mistake.
How should pastry dough be handled?
Your hands should be cold, too, when handling it. Run them under cold water or squeeze a plastic zipper-top bag full of ice to cool them off. Try to keep Puff Pastry from becoming too warm when working with it by only using your fingertips—the coolest part of your hands.
How do you tell if you’ve over kneaded dough?
You can tell you’ve kneaded dough too much if it becomes difficult to stretch. Sometimes this happens when you use a stand mixer or food processor. Overkneaded dough will be tough and make tough, chewy bread.
How do you fix sticky dough?
If your dough is so sticky that it sticks to everything, you need to add a little flour to it. As you are kneading it, make sure that your hands and your work surface are coated in a light dusting of flour, and add a few teaspoons of flour at a time. This will get rid of the stickiness.
Why should you not over handle dough?
When you cut into an over kneaded dough, you will notice that the interior is very dry and crumbly. The slices will likely fall apart rather than holding their shape. While the general taste of the bread may be the same, it will not have a nice mouth feel but, again, be dry, dense and crumbly- no thank you!
Why is it important not to over handle the dough?
While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It’s important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.
Why is my pastry dough crumbling?
Pastry dough becomes crumbly mainly when it is too dry. If there is not enough moisture to hold the dough together, it will just fall apart. Too Much Flour- If you add a little too much flour, your dough will be crumbly. It doesn’t take a lot of excess flour to make a dough fall apart.
Why is it important to rest dough after kneading?
This resting of the dough occurs just after you have mixed your ingredients together. This rest allows the starches and the gluten to expand and fully absorb the water, which makes the dough easier to handle and can shorten the time needed to fully knead the dough. …