What is overmixing, actually? Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.
When you overmix cake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands – resulting in a more dense, chewy texture. The white batter looks airier, while the red looks thick and dense. You Can Taste The Difference: The overmixed cupcakes were gummy.
Overmixing can cause quick breads to be tough, bake unevenly or cause elongated holes (or tunnels). Chopped nuts, fruit and other small "add in" ingredients may be combined with the dry ingredients or folded gently into the batter near the end of mixing.
You've probably seen recipes explain exactly how long to whisk, or what speed to put your stand mixer on, and those specifications are there for a reason. No matter what type of baked good you're making, over-mixing is generally a bad idea, as it will significantly affect the resulting texture.
Combine all of your wet ingredients before stirring them into the dry ingredients. Why:Overmixing batters and dough will toughen and strengthen the gluten in the flour, leading to tough, dense baked goods.
Basically, the more that flour is mixed and worked in a batter or dough, the more strands of gluten are formed. Hot air travels up through the strands creating tunnels, which create a gummy, dense structure. To avoid this, the batter must be mixed sparingly.
Bread Loaves made with over-kneaded dough commonly end up with a hard crust and dry interior. Often upon cutting, slices will crumble. If your perfect bread loaf turns into a crumbly mess, don't worry. The overworked dough will work great when used as croutons or breadcrumbs.
If the dough feels very dense and tough when you knead it against the counter, that is a sign that it's starting to become over-kneaded. It will be difficult to flatten the dough out and fold it over on itself in a normal kneading pattern.
If the dough doesn't spring back when pressed with a finger, or tears when you pull it, it needs more kneading. If it springs back immediately when lightly pressed, and doesn't tear when you pull it, it's been kneaded enough and is ready to rise.
On a practical level, it takes up to 25 minutes—and some well-developed forearm muscles—to knead dough by hand, and just about 8 minutes to knead in the stand mixer with the dough hook. However, if you do not own a stand mixer, you can still mix dough by hand and make a good loaf of bread from most doughs.
Resting the dough gives the gluten structure a chance to loosen and unwind, and it will give you a better final product.
Over-proofing happens when dough has proofed too long and the air bubbles have popped. You'll know your dough is over-proofed if, when poked, it never springs back. To rescue over-proofed dough, press down on the dough to remove the gas, then reshape and reproof. (This method won't work for sourdough bread.)
When it comes to whipping up the batter, the way you mix matters. Excessive beating will toughen the cake, but undermixing can cause it to crumble. What to do: Most cake recipes will call for alternating wet and dry ingredients into the creamed fat.
The peaks and tunnels characteristic of overmixed muffins are probably the result of overdevelopment of gluten and loss of carbon dioxide during overmixing.
Sufficient oxidization is important for gluten development. If mixed too long the dough can become loose and sticky. The water that was absorbed by the flour gets released back into the dough and the gluten structure breaks down.
Kneading with a KitchenAid mixer for 2 minutes is equivalent to kneading 10-12 minutes by hand. KitchenAid does not recommend kneading bread dough for more than 2 minutes at Speed 2, and that the total mixing and kneading time does not exceed 4-6 minutes.
Overkneaded dough will be tough and make tough, chewy bread. If you've kneaded by hand, you don't need to be too worried about overworked dough—you'll start to notice it getting difficult to manage. It takes a lot of elbow grease to knead bread dough; you'll likely tire yourself out before you can over-knead.
Stretch a section of dough between your fingers. If the dough tears, it needs to be kneaded more. If it stretches without tearing (making a windowpane of sorts), your dough is ready. Once you've determined that your dough has been kneaded enough, it's time to allow it to rest.
Smooth Dough – The dough will start out looking like a shaggy, lumpy mass and will gradually smooth out as you knead. By the time you finish, it should be completely smooth and slightly tacky to the touch. 2. Holds Its Shape – Lift the ball of dough in your hand and hold it in the air for a second.
Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.
“(1) A batter must attempt to avoid being hit by the pitch. If he does not attempt to avoid being hit by the pitch then: a) If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, the ball is dead, it shall be called a ball and the batter is not awarded first base.
Use the eyeball method plus a toothpick: Pour batter into pans by eye. Check the level of batter in each pan by inserting a toothpick and comparing the depths. If pans are unevenly filled, spoon batter gently from the fullest pan to the others.