I use a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer and bake bread about once a week.  From the beginning i've had a problem with the dough clinging to the dough hook and spinning uselessly around in the bowl.  I normally make about a three pound batch of 65% hydration baguette dough.  To combat the problem, i mix the bread on a speed of six or eight so that the centrifugal force will help keep the dough kneading by basically throwing it off the hook.  Nevertheless, I usually end up with the dough wrapped around the point where the dough hook mounts to the machine.  I attended culinary school and took a bread baking class and never once remember the dough in the big Hobar mixers clinging to the hook.  It always was kneaded neatly in the bottom of the bowl and at the end of the process the bowl was spotless.  By using the method I am using, I'm pretty sure that I'm basically burning up my mixer (it gets really hot by the time the dough is ready for first rise).  If anyone can suggest what I can do (maybe drier dough?)  I would really appreciate it!

I've taken in a stray.  I was more-or-less given a large hobart A200 20 qt mixer this afternoon... I found it for sale online, went to look at it and the guy just wanted it gone.  Apparently, he'd been trying to sell for 8 weeks and it needed to go before they move at the end of the month.  It is way too large for my needs--- I was secretly hoping it was a 5 or 10qt model when I saw it listed as "industrial mixer" and with a blurry thumbnail photo.  I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it now that I have it at home.  It is used, dusty from garage storage, the wisk is missing a few wires, and has been re-painted rather poorly. But mechanically, it works perfectly.  My current thoughts are that I could clean it up a bit and resell it or I could donate it to a local soup kitchen.  Any other ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

The manual that came with my Kitchen Aid mixer (Accolade 400) clearly states, " Do not exceed Speed 2 when preparing yeast doughs as this may cause damage to the motor." But Daniel Leader in "Local Breads" calls for faster speeds, sometimes for rather extended times, in several formulas. For example, in the formula for Genzano Country Bread (pg.199), he says to mix at Speed "5 or 6 on a  KitchenAid mixer" for 10 minutes, then at Speed 10 for 8 to 10 minutes.