Bread basics: understanding dough

Bread needs only four things: flour, water, salt and yeast. How you handle them makes the difference.

Kneading

Kneading stretches the gluten in the flour into a strong, stretchy net. That net traps the gas the yeast makes, so the bread rises.

Proving

Proving is the rest that lets the yeast work. Warm places make it faster; cool places make it slower but tastier.