Can You Knead Dough After It Rises?

Have you ever wondered if kneading the dough after it has risen is okay? We’re here to clear up any confusion.

In this article, we’ll discuss whether it’s a good idea to knead your dough after it has gone through its rising process and how to do it right if you choose to. Let’s dive in!

You should knead bread twice to make sure it has an excellent texture. Nevertheless, make sure you do not over-knead.

It is essential to knead dough in order for the gluten to develop. Gluten consists of long strands of protein, which make the dough stretchy, increasing its ability to hold the bubbles created by yeast or sourdough culture, thus enabling it to rise. As a result, you must knead the dough before it rises.

When you knead the dough again after it rises, you’ll destroy a lot of the air bubbles and become flat and dense. It is okay to knead the dough a bit after the first bulk rise if you wish.

It’s just necessary to knock some air out of it, but if you feel like kneading it a bit, feel free to do so. You don’t need to knead it much.

In the beginning, you have to knead before the first bulk rise. Don’t even think about kneading the dough after you have formed loaves and they have risen.

Almost all recipes instruct you to “form” the dough after the first rise – this procedure should be done gently so that as many bubbles remain in the dough as possible. With this technique, you can keep the crumb of your bread light and open.

Kneading Dough After It Rises?

You should knead your dough briefly and gently after the first rise to avoid tearing the dough. It deflates and disperses the large bubbles, ready for another surge.

A good loaf of bread requires gentle handling to prevent tearing the delicate gluten network after resting.

It is also known as “knocking back” because it involves pressing down the dough with your knuckles to deflate it.

If you fold the dough on itself a few times, it will hold its shape while proofing and baking.

It’s better to do this than act aggressively when you are kneading the dough on the counter as you did on your first attempt. Using that method will break down gluten strands that have been built up during the first knead but have now relaxed.

Should You Knead Dough After It Rises?

After the rise, you can knead the dough, but it will lose most of its gas during kneading, so you might think better of letting it rest for longer after kneading.

To get a close-grained loaf, like sourdough bread, you should do this step if you want your dough to be flat and dense.

Lightly knead the dough if you prefer sourdough with an open crumb. Further, you shouldn’t repeat this process if you already develop sufficient gluten before the first rise.

Additionally, the second time will allow the air bubbles to deflate and distribute gas. After you place the bread in the oven, you will have airy bread during the second rise.

Why Should You Do It?

It is critical to evenly distribute ingredients and remove gas by kneading them by hand or using a stand mixer.

Adding this step after rising will reduce the likelihood of large holes in your bread.

Aside from removing gas, the dough may also need to be kneaded after the final rise before it is baked. It is also necessary if you want your bread to have a tight crumb.

Benefits of Kneading Dough After It Rises

It is surprising how kneading dough after it rises can help your baking. Punching down your baked goods can improve their texture, taste, and overall quality.

Understanding the benefits of kneading dough after its initial rise will help you elevate your baking skills. Find out how these benefits can enhance your culinary skills.

Organizes Gluten

Gluten is essential to the structure of bread. It makes the dough elastic and smooth. Gluten strands are also created by the glutenin and gliadin proteins in the flour.

The process of kneading the dough helps develop gluten and gas bubbles. As well as lengthening and organizing these strands, it reinforces the lightness of bread by assisting them to stay in place.

If you want your dough to expand when you bake it, you should knead lightly to maintain the gluten balloons.

Removes Gas

When you let the dough rise, you also get the benefit of removing gas. You may get a burst through your loaf of bread if the dough contains gas bubbles.

Alternatively, you can remove the gas by kneading it before you shape it. Besides spreading the gas evenly, you should also do this step for freshly baked, airy bread.

Activates Yeast

Additionally, this step helps activate the yeast, which ferments sugar in the flour. You must perform this step after the first rise when your flour has low yeast content.

When To Knead Dough After Rising

Large holes in your dough result from gas accumulating inside, which cannot be dispersed during shaping.

Hence, removing all the excess gas after the first rise or bulk fermentation ensures a better-quality loaf of bread.

If you would like your bread to look a particular way, kneading the dough after rising will depend on your preferred outcome.

When Is The First Rise Complete?

Once the dough has doubled or tripled in size, the first rise, also known as bulk fermentation, has been completed.

The dough will take longer to triple in size, but this extra time makes better bread. As a result of the additional fermentation, the bread has a better flavour and texture. Avoid adding more flour or water in this stage since they won’t mix.

There is a direct link between the temperature and the yeast amount in determining the time of the first rise. The average recipe will require you to wait 2-3 hours, but using less yeast or lower temperatures might take 5+ hours.

It may only take an hour in a warm spot, but the results won’t be good, that’s for sure; you’ll get bland, tough bread instead.

How Long Do You Knead Dough After It Rises?

First, you can let it rest for around 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic and pliable. A mixer may over-knead the dough since it has two stages. It is best to knead by hand if you don’t want to over-knead.

After mastering this technique, you can do this first step for 5 to 6 minutes. The second stage only needs to spread yeast and gas. Keep it light and short.

When Should You Not Knead It?

You should avoid this step after rising unless you prefer open-crumbed goods with big holes. Removing the excess gas from the structure, this step can ruin the good form.

Let the loaf proof rather than dividing it right away. After that, shape, bench rest, and reshape it for the next rise.

It will also deflate bubbles that arose after the first rise, so your dough will become dense and uniform in shape.

Why Should You Knead Dough Gently After It Rises?

You should do this gently to create bread with an open crumb. Various shapes are also necessary when shaping bread. Focaccia requires, for example, a considerable hole shape.

Therefore, gently apply this step to your dough so that the gas that creates bubbles can remain there and prevent the dough from tearing. Using your hands, punch the dough down, press it lightly, and stretch it out.

In contrast, some recipes require gases to maintain gluten balloons, which will damage the structure. For this reason, avoiding this step is ideal to keep the dough’s good structure.

FAQs

1. What Will Happen If You Don’t Knead The Dough After It Rises?

Without well-kneaded dough, it will not inflate or hold its shape after its first proof. In addition to maintaining bubbles, skipping this step will also maintain them.

It is, therefore, imperative that this step be carried out in order to prevent dough from tearing or collapsing.

2. Do You Knead Bread Before Or After Letting It Rise?

In general, you should knead the dough before it rises, but you can do it both before and after rising.

When you knead a product, you mix ingredients and give it strength by mixing them together. The dough can be subjected to this step once it has gone through the first proof to remove bubbles and distribute gas.

3. Can You Knead The Dough After The Second Rise?

You can definitely do that. Ensure you do it lightly if you want the dough to keep its gas, making the bread very holey. Plus, keep it short so you don’t develop more gluten.

4. What Should You Do With The Dough After It Rises?

The answer depends. For thicker goods, punch it down if you don’t want it to over-proof. In the meantime, let it rise, shape, and bake.

Final Words

Is it safe to knead the dough after it rises? You’ll have to compare the baking process of a recipe with your preferences.

In addition to that, this step may or may not work depending on how you want your bread to look. Every recipe is different, so you might be able to do this after the first and second proofs.

We hope you have everything you need about kneading after the first rise.

You want to keep that nice structure you’ve built up inside the dough. Then you can shape it to make any bread you want.