Knocking back
Skill level
Easy
Equipment you will need for this technique
Mixing bowl
Flour dredger
After bread has been left to rise, it needs to have the excess air knocked out of it before proving. This is called 'knocking back'.
-Using floured hands, scrape the risen dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
-Knead the dough roughly for a few minutes until it looks as it did before it was left to rise (soft, smooth and elastic).