October 20, 2010 - 7:43pm
Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer
I have a nice Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I have one of the new scrapping paddles and a dough hook. Almost every recipe I see says kneading by hand. I dont have an issue with this and would love to learn more about it but I cant seem to find a recommended method to use this Mixer. Can someone point me at a good post on how to substitute the stand mixer into baking bread.
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Presuming you are using AP flour and commercial (instant) yeast, you can use your KA to do the initial mix of the flour and water. I personally prefer to slowly add the water to the flour, always holding some back (or adding more water if needed - but only by the teaspoon) until the hydration is satisfactory.
Mix the ingredients (using the paddle) until they are incorporated, then autolyse 30 minutes or so. Then you can add the yeast and the salt, and using the dough hook, mix to moderate gluten development.
What you do after that depends on what you're baking. A series of S&Fs (stretch and folds) aligns the gluten strands and develops dough strength. Getting your hands in the dough and feeling its development is a much better way to learn than having the machine do the work.
I don't like to use the "scraper" paddle for bread making with the KA. The regular paddle works better (IMO) and the scraper paddle really offers no benefit when making bread; cake yes, bread - I don't think so.
I'd endorse the outline for initial mixing as posted by LindyD. Just a couple of things to be aware of.
Knead with the dough hook at a speed of about "2"; usually about 5 - 8 minutes will do the job. Don't run the mixer at too high a speed while kneading with the dough hook . Not only is it not good for the machine but it tends to overheat your dough.
I agree. The only time I use the scraper paddle is for batter type recipes like cakes or brownies. The metal paddle works best for bread. After the autolyse period I switch to the dough hook. When I'm satisfied with the dough, I pull it out and give it a couple of stretch and folds and then put it in an oiled bowl to rise.
I'm a novice, which devalues my two cents, but the cookbook I'm using offers parallel instructions for hand and stand mixing. It calls for the paddle in step one, the autolyse, and the dough hook in step two, the knead. Step one should be low speed, step two at medium. Times for mixing or kneading by hand or machine seem to be mostly the same.
I'm working with The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. At the front of the book, the author states that his stand mixing instructions are based on Kitchenaid equipment. (Reinhart favors hand kneading, but he does not scorn electronics.)
One caveat: The professor calls for kneading at medium speed, but Kitchenaid manuals state that their machines are not made to knead at speed settings above 2.
My KA came with a dough hook - I mix everything (minus salt), mix for 6 minutes on speed 1, leave it to rest for 20 minutes, add salt and mix for 2 minutes on speed 2. Works every time