May 4, 2018 - 9:32am
Using Kenwood K beater for 61.5% hydration dough?
I just bought a Chef XL and used the dough hook to kneed. Wasn't too impressed, some of the dough kept at the bottom of the bowl and I ended up kneading by hand again.
I just read that some people use the K beater (paddle), but not sure if it'll work with a 61.5% hydration dough. Don't want to break my mixer...
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Sorry to hear you're not too impressed with your new Kenwood. Have you tried making other dough with it? I've heard such good things about these mixers, so maybe it's this particular dough that gives some trouble. I have been considering getting the Chef XL, to replace an aging KitchenAid mixer, but if your results are less than ideal, then that won't happen. Hopefully another Kenwood baker will be able to give more information.
....and I always use it for mixing my sourdough - I've used it for over 40 years. It works really well with the dough hook but you can use too much flour - then it doesn't mix up the flour/dough at the base of the bowl. I find that 1200 g flour is about the maximum. If you use the cake K beater, I think you'll find that it will overload the motor.
Edit:- I also think that 61.5% hydration is too low - I use 65% as a minimum for white bread and up to 80% for a tinned wholemeal loaf. Try using a bit more water.
when you write 'white bread' do you still mean sourdough?
All my breads are sourdough based and have been for years.
There are several dough hooks available for the Kenwood XL/Major. The best one is this one - a big chunk of stainless steel forged into a spiral.
I've found it much better than the other patterns. They say it's only for the Titanium, but if you are careful and don't overload it with too much dough or too low hydration, it will work with the lower wattage KM/PM models.
Also, with any of the bowl tools, you need to adjust the tool on the shaft with a spanner to make sure it is just clearing the bottom of the bowl.
Lance