I just made pita bread and had to knead it for 10 minutes then let it sit 10 minutes. When I came back to it after those 10 minutes it was all pillowy and soft. I’m curious what’s happening on a molecular level while kneading to make this happen.
In: Chemistry
So, in that short a period, what you’re seeing is more about what gets called “gluten development,” and it’s more about the wheat proteins than anything the yeast is doing.
Imagine gluten is like stretchy Velcro bits. It sticks best when it’s a bit wet, and if it sticks to itself it doesn’t like to stick to other stuff.
So as you knead it, you’re doing two things. First your touching the gluten molecules to other gluten molecules, which slowly turn into long chains and nets. If you’ve ever seen the spiderweb looking stuff when you stretch out dough, those strings are literally the gluten chains. The other thing you’re doing is stretching those chains out like rubber bands. Some of them will even break as you stretch them too far.
So as soon as you stop kneading, the dough can relax as the strings of gluten pull in on themselves. That slow shifting lets broken ends reform, and it introduces the gluten to more gluten that might not be attached.
So it’s softer because it’s loose, and smoother because it’s not broken.
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