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Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

How Kneading and Rise Time Affect Final Density of Bread

Abstract
This experiment is designed to test how kneading and rise time, or proofing, affects the
density of bread. When bread is kneaded it does three things: It helps combine ingredients, it
helps start the fermentation process and it helps develop the gluten. The gluten proteins in the
dough are aligned when kneading which helps carbon dioxide produced by the yeast make air
pockets during the rise. It is expected that the more the dough is kneaded and proofed, the more
it will rise; however, if dough is kneaded too long it can become dry and coarse but it is hard to
knead it long enough for that to happen. We divided our dough into three loaves, each one was
kneaded and proofed for different amounts of time. A blind taste test was done on 16 of our
classmates. Contrary to the expected results, sample A which was kneaded and proofed for the
least amount of time was rated highest for fluffiness and taste.
The density was found by measuring the water displaced by the bread and by measuring
the area and height of the samples. With both of these tests we found that bread A had the highest
density and bread sample C, which was kneaded and proofed longest, was less dense. This
proved our hypothesis that the more times you allow the dough to rise and the more you knead it,
the lower its final density will be. Our results will be able to be used by everyone who is looking
to understand the chemistry of bread and kneading, it could also be used to possibly improve
recipes.

Introduction
Bread has been around for thousands
of years and has taken many different forms.
Today bread can be classified into two general
groups: leavened and unleavened bread. Most
leavened breads are just alternate variations of
yeast, water, flour and salt. Unleavened bread
is prepared without a rising agent, making it
flat and dense like tortillas or flatbread.
Leavened bread uses a rising agent such as
yeast or baking soda. These types of bread are
fluffy and much less dense, like sourdough

Hydrated starch releases sugars which

the yeast then consumes; this fermentation
process of yeast is what helps the bread rise.
The carbon dioxide released by the yeast is
trapped in the gluten which is a matrix of
proteins. Kneading the dough helps the gluten
proteins align into sheets which traps the air a
lot better and makes for a consistent rise. The
amount that the bread rises depends both on
the amount it is kneaded and the number of
times you let it rise. This experiment will be
investigating how much rise time and

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

and baguettes. There are two main types of

leavening agents used in bread making, either
chemical leaveners or yeast. Chemical
leaveners are used to create carbon dioxide
bubbles inside the gluten of the batter which
makes it rise; baking powder is made of
bicarbonate and a weak acid. In order to
activate the powder, only water is needed,
whereas baking soda needs an acid such as
lemon, yogurt, vinegar or buttermilk to start
the reaction.
The other leavening agent ,as
mentioned above, is yeast, and is the main
focus of this experiment. Yeast is a singlecelled fungus that consumes sugar in its
various forms. The byproducts from this are
carbon dioxide and ethanol which leaven the
bread. (Back to pg 1)

Methods
Ingredients
2 teaspoons active yeast
2 cups tepid water (90 degrees fahrenheit)
5 cups unbleached all purpose baking flour
2 teaspoons fine salt
1 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
Canola oil for greasing
Yellow cornmeal for sprinkling
Making the batter:
Make all the dough together in one
batch and then separate the dough during the
kneading process, after the first rise. Find a
large mixing bowl to make the dough in and
to let the rising process happen in. Pour the
water into the bowl and sprinkle the active
yeast on the top of the water followed by 2

kneading affect the density of the bread.

The bread that will be used for this
test is a baguette. The dough will be divided
into three parts of equal mass. The first will
only be kneaded and rise once before it is
cooked. The second will have two rises and
kneads, and the third will have three. It is
expected that the bread that is kneaded and
has risen the longest will rise the most and be
least dense. Our results will show how
kneading and rise time will affect the bread
through chemistry. It will also be a way to
gain new knowledge into how to make good
bread and share it with the community at our
exhibition.

We then kneaded the rest of the dough,

in its two separate pieces, for 5-10 minutes.
Bread C we left in the bowl and allowed to
rise for 1 -2 hours. We then shaped bread B
into a baguette and let it rise for 1 1/2 - 2
hours (until it tripled in size) and then put it in
the oven.
To test the effect that the process of
kneading had on our bread we measured the
density of each of these breads by measuring
the Volume/Mass = Density. We measured the
volume by doing a water displacement test.
We filled up a beaker with water to the very
top. Then we wrapped a sample piece of each
of our bread loaves in plastic wrap and
submerged it in the water slowly. We caught
the water that was pushed out of the beaker
when we put in the bread and that water in ml

cups flour. Beat these ingredients until they

have smooth consistency. Cover loosely with
plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 2-3
hours.
We then sprinkled in the salt, added
another 1 cups of flour and the vital wheat
gluten that this recipe calls for. Beat for two
minutes and then in cup intervals add the
remainder of the flour until the dough has a
smooth consistency. This is a part of our
experiment that was controlled and stayed
consistent through all of our cooking
processes. We also tried to consistently cook
each loaf at 450 degrees for 35 minutes.

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

was the volume of the bread sample.

We also created a survey and had
people try our different breads to see if there
was any consistent pattern on how the
kneading affected the qualitative results of
fluffyness and taste. We had 10 people sample
our different breads and fill out a comparative
survey between the breads.

We also took our three different bread

loaves and measured their volume in a water
displacement test and calculated the volume
another way. We measured the weight of a
piece of each bread (A, B, and C) and
wrapped it in clear plastic wrap and slowly
This is when we split the dough into
submerged it into a full 500 ml container, and
three separate, equal-sized pieces (A, B, & C). then we collected the water that overflowed
Breads B and C we kneaded for another 5-10 underneath.
minutes, then moved it into an oiled deep
The volume of the water that was
bowl and turned the dough once in order to
displaced out of the container was the volume
coat it. We then covered the dough loosely
of that sample of bread. We did this for each
with plastic wrap and let rise at room
temperature until it tripled in size (about 2 - sample, recording the volume of water
displaced.
3 hours).
Our independent variable was the
kneading process with the dough. We
manipulated only this part of the process in
order to see how just kneading affects the
final outcome of a baguette. We kneaded
baguette A for 5-10 minutes and then shaped it
into the shape of a classic baguette, put it in a
floured bowl to keep it from sticking, and
covered it with plastic wrap. After letting it
rise for 1-2 hours we put our first loaf in the
oven and cooked it for 35 minutes. We
sprayed each baguette with water at 10-minute

We measured the volume of our bread

one other way by again taking three different
samples of A, B, and C and measuring and
recording their mass. Then we traced their
circumference onto a piece of graph paper and
took the average height. We found the area
inside the circumference of the bread that we
traced and multiplied it by the height to get
the volume. We did this for each of the three
samples. With the volume and the mass of our
samples we were able to find the density
which is volume/mass.

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

intervals a total of four times (this was done in

We kneaded bread piece C for another
order to humidify the oven and make the crust
5-8 minutes (shaped into a baguette) after
crunchy). When we took the bread out of the
letting it rise, then covered it loosely in clear
oven. The crust was golden brown. ( Back to
plastic wrap and let rise again for another twopg 2)
hour period. After that final rising period we
baked the final loaf (C).

Results Section
Qualitative Results:
Table 1: Qualitative test average results - Taste and fluffiness rated between one and five, one
being the worst and 5 being the best.
Average
Average Taste Average
Average Taste Average
Average Taste
Fluffiness A A
Fluffiness B B
Fluffiness C C
3.1875

3.533333333

2.875

2.666666667

3.125

2.733333333

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

As you can see in the graph above

baguette A had a higher average fluffiness and
taste, based on opinion, than B or C.

While bread B got the lowest rating in

both fluffiness and taste and Bread C was
rated more fluffy and tasty then B but less
than A.

Quantitative Results:
Table 5: Averages for each type of density calculation
Average water
displacement

Average Calculated
Density

Bread A

3.9

5.6

Bread B

5.1

Bread C

2.85

5.3

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

The table and graph above display the results

from our water displacement test and
calculated density. Bread C displaced the most
amount of water by mass, so it measured the
lowest density with water displacement.

Bread A displaced the least amount of water

and B was in between. With our alternately
calculated density results we found that bread
B had the lowest density and Bread A had the
highest.

Discussion
For this lab project we chose to
investigate how kneading and rise time affect
the quality and density of a baguette. We
studied this so that we ourselves could learn
more about the bread baking process and the

This experiment was not designed to find a

better way to make bread. Rather, it was
designed so that we could better understand
the chemistry of why bread is made the way
that it is and how different factors such as

chemistry behind yeast and kneading dough

and to share our findings with the public. We
also had the goal of presenting what we
learned at an exhibition by teaching a class on
how to make and knead bread. For this part of
our project we wish we had come with all of
our ingredients to display as well as the final
result of our bread for people to sample and
see.

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

kneading and rise time will affect the bread.

In doing this experiment and making a
presentation for exhibition, we learned how to
better make bread ourselves and we were also
able to teach the community about baking
bread.
We are most confident in our results
from the water displacement test because it
was the most accurate and had the least
systematic error. The background research
that we did into the chemistry of bread is
congruent with the results from this test.
When we measured the density with a ruler
our results were much less accurate and we
had an outlier. This is why if we were to do
this experiment again we would only use the
water displacement test to find the density.
Then we could have tests a larger amount of
samples and then our average would have
been more accurate.

Our results were almost completely

consistent with what we thought would
happen. The bread that we kneaded the most
and allowed to rise the most amount of times
had the lowest density. This is because the
more you knead the more you are forcing
carbon chains to bond and this allows the
dough to trap more CO2. For both of our
volume tests we found bread C (most
kneaded) had the lowest density. The outlier
that we had was that our second sample of
bread A had a higher density than bread B. We
During our first cooking process we
think that this was because of an error that we
were inconsistent with the amount of time in
had in that volume test.
the oven and this affected our qualitative
Other than that outlier, our results
results. We learned that a good way to have a
show that the more you knead your dough and more accurate experiment is to be sure to only
allow it to rise, the less dense it becomes. The have one independent variable. So we needed
average calculated density shows that bread B to make the cooking process as uniform as we
is less dense than bread C but that can be
could throughout the experiments. We also
attributed to systematic error; We were using a should have allowed more people to take our
ruler to measure the height of the bread and
survey in order to get more accurate
very roughly calculated the surface area of the qualitative results because with such a small
bread using graph paper.
amount of responses our results were very
inconsistent and inconclusive. This was
People have been making bread for thousands probably due to the fact that only 16 people
of years and over that time people have
took our blind taste test. On our second round
perfected their recipes to make the fluffiest
of making baguettes we made the cooking

Coleman Bader
&
Berr Kilgo

most delicious bread possible. (Back to pg 6)

time consistent and due to this our results

were much closer to what we expected.

Sources
1. BrainStuffShow. "How Does
Bread Rise?" YouTube. YouTube, 24
Feb. 2014. Web. 23 May 2016.
This video gives a basic outline of the
chemistry involved in baking bread, including
how yeast helps it rise and what kneading
does to it. We decided to use this source to
briefly describe the process so that people
without a chemistry background could
understand our experiment.
2. Reuben, Bryan. "9.6. Obesity on the
Rise." (n.d.): n. pag. Chemistry World.org.
Chemistry World.org, Oct. 2009. Web. 10
May 2016.
This article went deep into the modern science
of bread and how this process has evolved
recently. It also clarified for us the difference
between a lot of different types of bread. The
most useful aspect of this site was it gave us
information on how manipulation of each of
the main four ingredients of bread affects the
final outcome

3. "Baking Bread: The Chemistry of BreadMaking." Compound Interest. N.p., 13 Jan.

2016. Web. 23 May 2016.
This article talks about how leavened bread is
made using four main ingredients and goes
more in depth into the chemistry of kneading
and yeast. It talks in depth about how
kneading helps break up the gluten and then
how the yeast fills the air pockets in the gluten
This article also talks about how gluten free
bread works and what happens when bread
goes stale.

4. "What Is Yeast?" Red Star Yeast. N.p.,

2014. Web. 23 May 2016.
We used this source to learn more about the
leavening agent of yeast and how it works
chemically. This gave us necessary
background info about the chemistry of yeast.
We also found relevant information about how
kneading and rise time effect the amount that
the yeast is allowed to rise and the ability for
the dough to trap the Co2 that is produced by
the yeast.