Does sourdough bread “knead” to be kneaded?

I’m sorry, couldn’t resist.

No, it does not need to be kneaded.

A better question might be, does kneading make a superior loaf of sourdough bread?

Yes. Yes it does. At least, if you consider a superior loaf of sourdough one with a larger, more even belly with less tearing, a more uniform fermentation and thus crumb, and improved oven spring. Loaves that have been kneaded have an overall more rounded look.

If you’re unsure of what a “belly” is on bread, or maybe exactly what oven spring is, this glossary of sourdough terms might be very helpful to you. It’s in alphabetical order for ease of use.

For the longest time I didn’t believe sourdough required kneading. The recipes and methods I had followed, the bakeries I had worked in, none included kneading in their sourdough preparation, just the more typical coil folds or stretch and folds. It was one of the appeals of sourdough, less about working the dough and more about time and timing. After reading more and more on sourdough, I began to notice that some people did indeed knead their dough after the initial mixing before later carrying on also with stretch and folds.

Why do some people knead, and others not?

Well, simply to get a head start on gluten development. Mixing the dough thoroughly before bulk ferment starts allows for a more thorough distribution of ingredients, a more even fermentation, and thus a more even crumb. For those less adept at understanding if gluten has been developed enough with a few stretch and folds, up front kneading all but makes sure gluten will be developed by the end of bulk fermentation.

More Sourdough:

Does Sourdough Bread Need to be Kneaded?

Sourdough Tools: The Essentials and the Non-Essentials

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

The 5-Minute Score Method

How to Test Your Flour's Hydration Capacity

Cold Retard: Does It Matter How the Dough Is Covered?

Avoiding the Sourdough Dark Bottom Crust

Sourdough Tools: The Essentials for Beginners

Adding Inclusions to Sourdough Bread

Is an Autolysis Necessary for Sourdough Bread?

Using All-Purpose Flour vs. Bread Flour in Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Terminology

Personal Preference

What I’m describing to some might be nuances, to others, significant impact. It really depends on what you want out of your loaf. Sometimes, technical feats in sourdough are not always what someone may want to eat. A good example of this would be the sourdough ear. Achieving an ear on a loaf of sourdough is a sign that a loaf of sourdough has been well-made, yet many people don’t prefer eating a loaf of bread with an ear, it can be hard to cut through or eat. Same with kneading. You might care more about saving 15 minutes of time by not kneading than achieving a slightly improved loaf. Sourdough can be highly personal, and I love that.

Now, I frequently skip the kneading process for sourdough because, as mentioned above, it’s not strictly necessary. With three little kids and the constant sense that I’m running out of time, I often gladly choose to mix my ingredients and simply let them rest before performing stretch and folds, rather than kneading the dough up front when mixing all the ingredients together. I’ve had many a loaf turn out brilliantly with this simple method, no kneading required. But yes, I will not argue that kneading can improve a loaf.

You might also find “Using All-Purpose Flour vs. Bread Flour in Sourdough Bread” interesting

At this point the most helpful thing would be to show you a side by side experiment of two loaves, so here we go:

not kneaded on the left, kneaded on the right

A Side by Side Experiment: Kneaded and Not

I baked off two loaves, identical in every way, as a nice visual to see what kneading dough can do. Here’s the breakdown of the method.

Both loaves used 100% Kirkland Organic all-purpose flour (11.5% protein content)
Both loaves are 71% hydration, 20% starter, 6% salt
All ingredients were combined at the beginning, no autolyse or fermentolyse
One loaf was kneaded 3x for 3 minutes, with 3-5 minute rests in between, for a total kneading time of 9 minutes. The other loaf was not kneaded, ingredients were mixed into a shaggy ball.
Each loaf got 4 sets of stretch and folds. Bulk ferment lasted about 8.25 hours with dough temperature ranging from 72°F - 74°F. 20 minute pre-shape, final shape by trifold and caddy clasp, then into the fridge overnight.
Baked in preheated dutch ovens with ice cubes. Second scoring at 6 minutes, baked for a total of 35 minutes at 450°F.
One minor caveat but I believe still worth mentioning, is that the kneaded loaf was left uncovered in the oven for 1-2 minutes when I went to do the second score. My 14 month old started making a beeline for the open oven and I had to quickly close it. The time it took me to remove the toddler from the kitchen and distract him with toys was not long, but the loaf was uncovered in the oven during a time it would not normally have been.

Clear bowl with dough that has been mixed to a shaggy ball, blue bowl with dough that has been hand kneaded for a total of 9 minutes

The kneaded dough was noticeably smoother when I went to do the first stretch and fold, and over all four sets of stretch and folds the dough that was not kneaded seemed tighter, as if gluten had been built up, yet the kneaded dough seemed more slack and extensible. Other than that, they held their pre-shape fairly equally and felt similar to shape.

The baked difference is notable, and yet, they’re both good-lookers.

For whatever reason, the not kneaded loaf ended up a bit bigger overall. I wonder if the minute or two the kneaded loaf was uncovered in the oven perhaps formed the crust a bit prematurely and stunted its growth. I could be wrong, but that’s my working theory, haha.

Notice the kneaded loaf has that smoother belly, where the not kneaded loaf shows signs of tearing in the belly, looks a bit more rustic. It’s really up to you, if you think the extra kneading time is worth the result, or not!