How Long You Should Be Kneading Fresh Pasta Dough - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

How Long You Should Be Kneading Fresh Pasta Dough - Tasting Table? ›

If you're kneading by hand or using a stand mixer, this will take at least five minutes — though you'll probably want to keep at it for a bit longer. Your dough will likely be done at around eight minutes if you're using a stand mixer; 10 to 25 if you're kneading by hand.

Form the dough into a ball, cover with an upturned bowl or with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes- it will be easier to knead. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. Do this by folding the dough over itself, pushing it forward with the heel of your hand, turning slightly as you go.

Kneading the dough activates the gluten in the flour; this is what gives the dough stretch later. Pasta is much more forgiving than bread, you don't really have to worry about overworking it. Most recipes recommend a longer knead (15-20 minutes) but I've found that 5 minutes of real deal kneading gets the job done.

How to know when you have kneaded pasta dough long enough. The dough passes the windowpane test (when you gently stretch the dough it has the ability to stretch thin enough to see a shadow behind it without it breaking. Another way to tell is by poking it with your fingertip. If the dough bounces back, it is ready.

Some doughs take just 3–5 minutes, while others can take up to 10–15 minutes. For those longer knead times, if your arms are getting tired, feel free to pop the dough back into your stand mixer and use the dough hook for a few minutes to give your hands a break.

The Poke Test – Give that ball of dough a firm poke with your finger. If the indentation fills back quickly, you're good to go. If it stays looking like a deep dimple, continue kneading.

To knead, simply press the heel of your hand into the ball of dough, pushing forward and down. Rotate the ball 45° and do it again. You'll want to keep going until the dough no longer looks powdery—it should have a smooth, elastic texture, similar to a firm ball of Play-Doh.

The kneading process warms and stretches these gluten strands, eventually creating a springy and elastic dough. If bread dough is not kneaded enough it will not be able to hold the tiny pockets of carbon dioxide gas created by the yeast. The resulting dough will collapse producing a dense loaf.

You can, however, go too far. Wang cautions home cooks not to get complacent when resting their dough either. After about 20–30 minutes, the dough will start to ferment and turn sour. That Goldilocks window, though, depends on environmental factors like altitude, temperature, and moisture in the air.

While it can dry out if you knead too long, it's not as easy to overwork as standard bread dough. It does take time, though. Luckily, you don't have to make fresh pasta by hand. In fact, most recipes suggest using a stand mixer because kneading tough pasta dough by hand is a serious workout.

How many minutes to knead dough in a stand mixer? ›

Depending on the dough, this can take anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes of kneading. Avoid over-kneading, which can make the dough tough. Over-kneaded dough feels tight and difficult to work with. The type of flour, amount of water, and any added ingredients can all impact kneading time.

A failure to knead dough (unless you're working with a no-knead recipe) can lead to: Poor gluten development: When you don't knead bread, the gluten won't form properly. This can result in a lack of elasticity and strength, meaning your final product is likely to come out of the oven dense and heavy.

Simple Steps for Kneading

Begin kneading the dough, pushing it down and then outward, only using the heels of your hands. Fold the dough in half toward you and press down. Then use the heels of your hands again to push down and outward, lengthening and stretching the strands of gluten and dough fibers.

When kneading, you need to stretch the dough out and then fold it back on itself and flatten it, and then repeat the process, making sure you turn the dough round between stretches. It can take between 5 and 10 minutes until the consistency of the dough changes and it becomes smoother and more elastic.

It means to let your dough rest (I give it 25-30 minutes) before kneading. This allows the flour to become thoroughly saturated, and provides time for the gluten chains to start forming up before you even lay a hand on the dough — more pre-kneading. Following that, it's an easy 5 to 7 minutes — that's all!

After energetically kneading the dough for about 10 minutes, it needs to rest. The resting period allows the gluten network to relax and the dough to become balanced, elastic, and smooth.

Knead the dough: If you're working in a bowl, transfer the mixture to a work surface. Knead the dough vigorously until it comes together, about 5 minutes—you can't overwork pasta dough, so have at it.

If your dough feels dense and tough to handle when you stop the mixer, it is a sign that it is becoming over-kneaded. Over-kneaded dough can become very hard to work with and produce a more flat and chewy bread.