Anyone ever used a dough knob, described in Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book?
On page 416 of the 2003 update of The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, there is a drawing of a tool for mixing dough that she calls a "dough knob". It is made on a wood lathe from a 1.5" diameter dowel, with the handle, about 4/5th's of it's length, turned down to a diameter of 3/4", leaving a head about 2" in length and 1.5" in diameter.
She states : " ...but this bit of practical woodcraft is just for pleasure. For mixing up the dough, no spoon can match it's efficiency."I am just getting into baking bread, and happen to have a wood lathe, so will be making one of these today, but am just wondering what makes it so efficient, and how it might be used to best effect. I tried Googling "dough knob" to no avail. She states in the book that she is not aware of any commercial source for these, and I haven't found any other pictures or references online.
I will post a picture to this thread later when my dough knob is finished for those who are curious. In the meantime, I would appreciate any information anyone might have about this tool and it's use.
Thanks,
Dan
PS The only way I was able to upload a pic was to come back and edit this (original) post, for some reason couldn't do it in the relies that followed.
This is my new dough knob. I varied from the drawing in the book some, made the handle thicker for easier gripping when the going gets rough, and rounded the top of the head a bit to conform to a curved bowl. It's made of ornamental plum wood, which is hard and tight grained, and has a coat of walnut oil for protection from the elements. I'll give it a try in a couple of days, and report back with my impressions.
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Well, that didn't work, hmm...
Posting pictures on TFL;
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/2960/posting-photos-faq
Wild-Yeast
Finally got to use the dough knob, worked very well in hand mixing the biga and soaker for one loaf of Peter Reinhart whole wheat bread using his two part method. I used my Breville Sous Chef 16 cup food processor for the final mixing process and kneading, and the whole thing turned out quite well, with just a couple of minutes of hand kneading to bring it all together.
The advantage in the dough knob is that once most of the liquid is taken up by the flour using a conventional stirring motion, the remaining flour can be pressed into the dough with the domed top in more of a mashing, vertical motion, and since there is no hollow as in a spoon, nothing gets trapped there.
Still no luck uploading pics using the "tree" icon.
Dan
Dan, do you have a danish dough whisk http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/dough-whisk-11-long?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_keyword=Dough+Whisk+11+long&g...^170124117023-device^c-plaid^111209678882-sku^5575-adType^PLA I wonder how that would compare to the dough knob?
I had seen that tool online, and wondered about it. It is described as more like a whisk for batters than dough, but in the comment section sounds like folks are using it for dough as well. Would be fun to try, but harder to make at home.
Dan
I've had one of these Danish dough whisks for years and just love it! I've never used it for batters, just for doughs. I'd love to try the dough knob, something I'd never heard of before, if I could find one, just for the fun of it. That said, I've often just used the handle of a big wooden spoon to stir up dough, and I love kneading by hand.
old ladies penchant for 1.2. punching the dough to develop the gluten and being able to keep the hands clean while beating the heck out of it. Maybe needs to be as wide as a fist though.
ouch!
Dan
Hi, Dan.
I just took my copy of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book down off the shelf to try spelt bread again after being gluten-free for a few years, and found the reference to a dough knob. An internet search of dough knob brought me right to your comment! Apparently dough knobs aren't common lol.
Anyway, how is the dough knob working out for you? My daughter is a woodworker rebeccadegroot.com and could easily make one for me - out of purpleheart, my wood of choice. :)
Thanks,
Robin