January 9, 2022 - 12:09pm
Kneading with hand pain
I wasn't sure where to post this.
I have hand issues. Specifically, my thumb joints are shot and getting worse. I need surgery. I'm waiting until I buy a house and move in. In the meantime, I'm in a rental and feel the need to bake bread since I now have an oven. I am concerned about aggravating my issue.
- I was thinking that for regular bread using a very hydrated dough would probably be better. But, that's why I'm typing this question.
- I also want to make pita bread, which I'm pretty sure won't do well with runny dough, so I need to figure out the best way to knead.
Though, as I typed all that, I began to think that I may not have an issue after all. Kneading is done with the palms, right? If that causes discomfort, I could use my knuckles.
Thoughts?
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If you have a mixer to do high-hydration doughs that makes the most sense. For something like pita, you can always withhold part of the flour so you have an 80% hydration dough and beat that with the mixer until gluten is developed, and then stir the remaining flour in at the end. That's probably not the optimal way to make bread, but pita is pretty forgiving.
Lower the starter % to get a long, 12 + hours, ferment. Aim for at least 70% hydration. The gluten will form itself with no kneading.
Autolyse, and stretch and fold is all you need, save your hands. You should be able to read about both techniques on TheFreshLoaf.
Correct although i use more the bottom of the wrist. Fold the dough over, then push down and away with the heel of your hand. You kinda lean on the dough with body weight as it's pressed down away from ya. With practice you can use 2 hands and stretch sideways along with lengthwise. A trick is - at the end of the push away from ya, fold the dough as you bring your hand back and your ready for the next push/stretch. My thumbs aren't as bad as yours, although i am in the midst of another arthritis related golf grip change, but i do this all the time. No pressure on fingers or joints - it's all on the bones of the arm. And goes really fast when ya get the hang of it - like 100 stretches a minute! Enjoy!
2012 I had surgery on first one hand and then 4 wks later, on my other hand. Hard to believe it was so long ago. I could NOT be without my homemade bread so I found recipes for and did batter bread. It was like making a cake batter. I had (and still have) a Kitchenaid mixer but really any stand mixer would work with what I did. A bread machine was also suggested. Those can be found by the dozens at thrift stores around here-even if you use it just for the mixing. My problem was NOT handling the dough as much as it was handling the bowl, dumping the dough into the baking pan and getting it into/out of the oven. But a good knowledge of the laws of physics, creative problem solving and determination paid off and we never went without bread during my recovery.
So HERE is my initial query so many years ago and HERE is my followup post with pics. I continued to make batter bread for a while and may revisit it now that I've been reminded.
As for the pita bread, IIRC, that dough takes some handwork to get flat and round but some creative use of other body parts (forearm/elbows) and perhaps a press of some kind (large plate, parchment, tortilla press, large iron frying pan, etc) and you would probably get that done.
Good luck, prayers and good wishes. DO YOUR REHAB! Ask for re-hab even if they think you will be fine without. It was priceless in speeding up my full recovery.
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The whole wheat pita that I make is done with no kneading to speak of:
1.Mix all the ingredients into a shaggy mass (about 1.5-2 mins)with a rice paddle
2. Let it ferment in a covered bowl over 4-5 hrs with about 3 stretch and folds.
Then it is ready to roll out for the pita which I cook and inflate on the stovetop.
Runny dough is difficult to roll out so use 80-85% hydration in the dough.
Would portioning out roundish chunks of dough and rolling them flat be difficult? The shape won't be that important especially when you see them inflated.