I was overworking my pasta dough for a solid year

Charles Cooper · 2026-03-20T10:45:05.734145+00:00

A new cook at my spot in Chicago watched me knead for ten minutes straight and just said 'it's tired, chef.' Letting it rest more changed the whole texture. Anyone else have a basic technique they were doing wrong forever?

zara_west266mo ago

Rest it until it feels cool again.

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gray_burns6mo ago

Wait, what does "feels cool again" even mean? @zara_west26, the dough just needs time to relax, not necessarily get cold. That rest period is about the gluten unwinding, not the temperature.

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briancampbell6mo ago

Yeah, that "it's tired" line hits home... I was doing the same thing with pizza dough, just pounding on it forever. @gray_burns is right, it's all about the gluten relaxing, not the temp. I found that even a 20 minute rest under a bowl makes it way easier to shape without fighting it.

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