Used to knead by hand for 20 minutes, now I do stretch and folds instead

For the first 6 months of baking bread I would knead dough on the counter until my wrists ached. Then I read about the stretch and fold method and tried it with a wet dough last fall. Now I just do 4 sets of folds every 30 minutes and the crumb comes out way more open. My old loaves were dense and tough no matter how long I kneaded. Anyone else switch methods and see a big difference in their sandwich bread?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason.margaret1d ago

Now I just do 4 sets of folds every 30 minutes" - ok but you're still committing like 2 hours to all that folding and waiting. Idk, feels like people act like kneading is some huge chore when it's literally just pushing dough around for 10 minutes. I get that stretch and fold works for some hydration levels but acting like it's a total game changer for sandwich bread feels oversold.

fiona_reed1d ago

Does your sandwich dough usually sit around 70% hydration or higher? Those wetter doughs just collapse under a good kneading, but the folds give them enough structure to hold air without turning into a brick.