why do recipes add butter at the END of kneading and not the start?

Baking & Technique butterkneadingenriched-doughbread

Every enriched bread recipe holds the butter back until late in the kneading and I've never understood why. It all ends up in the same dough?? Also does using more or less butter actually change the bread much?

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2 replies

Fat coats gluten strands and blocks them from bonding to each other. Add butter at the start and you're trying to build a network through a layer of grease - hand kneading would take 50+ minutes and your arms would file a complaint.

The course method: knead to about 70-80% gluten development first, THEN add soft room-temperature butter, then 2-3 more minutes to full windowpane. The network is already built, the fat just enriches it.

And yes, the amount changes the bread meaningfully. More fat = richer, softer, closer, more tender crumb (think brioche territory). Less = leaner and chewier (think baguette direction). Butter brings flavour, neutral oil keeps the crumb soft for longer. Pick by what you want the bread to BE.

"your arms would file a complaint" 😂 but also this finally explains why my all-in-at-once brioche took a literal hour to come together

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