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How to Do the Windowpane Test

Making dough for bread or pizza can seem daunting for some of us. Kneading dough comes with worries of either under or over kneading. There are some ways within which you can find out if your dough is on the right track. One of those is the ‘window test’/ windowpane test/pulling a window.

So What IS the Windowpane Test?

The windowpane test is done at the end of kneading. The aim is to check if the dough has developed enough gluten, which would mean it has been sufficiently kneaded and can, therefore, be left to rise.

How to Do the Windowpane Test

To perform the windowpane test, pinch off a piece of the dough. Using your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger from each hand, proceed to stretch the dough as much as you can. See below

What you want is the middle section of the dough to stretch out so thin it forms a thin membrane you can almost see through it. This plus a smooth dough is the ‘tell’ that it has developed enough gluten.

So how do you know if the test has failed? The dough would break as soon as you start to stretch it, which means the dough needs to be kneaded some more.

How to Perform the Windowpane Test on Wet Dough

While you might dread performing the windowpane test on dough that is overly wet, trust me when I say it should not intimidate you. Here’s the simple secret: wet your hands first. I lightly wet my hands (especially fingertips) with the oil respective of what I used to make the dough. So if I was making brioche-like bread I use a little butter, if it’s your usual wholegrain with water or buttermilk I will wet my hands with some water. Or oil when making pizza.

This will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, BUT only for so long. So you need to just portion off what you need using a dough scraper and proceed to do the test.

I hope the information was useful and that your pizza journey yields the most delicious pizzas with of course happy memories for you and your family.

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