Some bread doesn't need a lot of mixing or kneading before baking, while other doughs need a little more help to work up a stronger gluten structure. Pushing and folding the dough to create a chewier and tighter crumb is certainly effective, but bread can be over-kneaded, and this is how to tell if your dough has gone too far.

To see if your dough is over-kneaded, try the "windowpane test" by stretching the dough out enough to see through it, like a windowpane, which indicates that the dough is ready. If you end up over-mixing or -kneading, you'll notice that your dough flops around when you try to stretch it and feels extremely tight and "bouncy."

Over-kneading is common when using a stand mixer to mix your ingredients, so it’s especially important to keep an eye on your dough if you aren’t hand-kneading it. Once the bread is over-kneaded and you can't stretch the dough enough to see through it, there is no saving it, and it's best to start over with a new batch.