Technique · illustrated
Kneading, in four moves.
Every sourdough recipe assumes you already know what 'developed' feels like. Here's what your hands are looking for.
Kneading isn't about force — it's about aligning gluten strands into a net that traps gas. With sourdough, we knead less than commercial yeasted doughs because the long fermentation does part of the work. What follows is the manual method; for high-hydration doughs, most bakers substitute stretch and folds during bulk instead.
Step 01
Mix to a shaggy dough
Stir flour, water, starter, and salt together with a spoon or wet hand until no dry flour remains. It will look rough, patchy, and reluctant to hold together — that's exactly right. Cover and rest 20 minutes so the flour drinks the water before you ask more of it.
Step 02
Fold, push, quarter turn
Tip the dough onto a lightly wet counter. Fold the far edge toward you, push it away with the heel of your hand, then rotate a quarter turn. Repeat in a steady rhythm for 5–8 minutes. The dough goes from tearing under pressure to gliding along the counter.
Step 03
Slap-and-fold (for wetter doughs)
Above 75% hydration, switch to slap-and-fold: pick the dough up by one end, slap the bottom half onto the counter, then fold the top over. Repeat. It looks brutal but it's the fastest way to build strength in a wet dough without adding flour.
Step 04
The windowpane test
Pinch off a walnut-sized piece and gently stretch it between your fingers. If it thins to a translucent membrane without tearing, gluten is fully developed. If it tears immediately, knead another minute or two and test again.
You're done when...
- The dough pulls off the counter cleanly instead of smearing.
- It feels smooth and slightly tacky, not sticky.
- A poke rebounds slowly rather than staying dented.
- It passes the windowpane test without tearing.
Common mistakes
- Adding flour to stop the stickiness
- Wet your hands and the counter instead. Extra flour lowers hydration and gives you a denser loaf.
- Kneading for a set number of minutes
- Time is a rough guide. Test the dough — it tells you the truth about gluten development.
- Skipping the rest before kneading
- A 20-minute autolyse cuts kneading time roughly in half. It's the cheapest speed-up in bread.
Keep going