Step 3: Work in the butter & knead
Dough
- butter, softened113 g1 stick
- dough
Cut the softened butter into small pieces. Turn the rested dough onto a work surface and add the butter on top. Work the butter into the dough by hand by cutting with a bench scraper, and pushing the dough down into the work surface with the heel of your hand.
- There will be butter everywhere at first, but just keep working it until it combines. It will take a good 10 minutes or more.
Once the butter is combined, start the dough until it is completely smooth and no longer sticky, another 5-10 minutes.
- You can also incorporate the butter and knead with a stand mixer if you have one.
The dough is done when a gluten window can be made; pull off a small piece of the dough and perform the : see if it can be gently stretched until slightly translucent.
- The gluten window test is the key to understanding if the flour has been hydrated enough. If the dough tears before getting to a translucent window, keep kneading. See the video for an example.