Ken Forkish and severe hand problems
Hello all - I am new here but not new to baking. I have been baking for 30 odd years and stumbled across Ken Forkish book Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast about 3 months ago. Purchased the book and jumped right in. Love the recipes so far and all of them that I have tried came out wonderful.
Now on to the new problem. I have developed severe carpal tunnel along with some soft tissue damage and partial collapsed joints in my dominant hand with some mild problems in my other hand. I need advise on how to go on from here. Can I use my kitchen aid for any of the process and the results still come out great? Pinching and folding are extremely painful and my PT says "NO!" to both. I am at a loss and am sad because my husband and I love this bread and pizza results.
Thanks a head of time for any help out there!
Jo
Too bad about the carpal tunnel. That is serious stuff. Take care of your hand.
One thing that might allow you to mix by hand is to mimic the technique shown by Trevor Wilson in his videos (go to Breadwerx.com). You could follow his method and avoid using your thumb (I believe) by creating a bit of a scoop with your four fingers and reaching under the dough and pulling it out, up, away, and then back over the rest of the dough (letting the dough in your hand fall back onto the rest of the dough). If you were to turn the bowl with your left hand and do the pulling with your right hand, you could develop gluten in the dough and avoid the pincer (which sounds like the motion that has caused you problems). It is at least worth watching Trevor's videos for education.
Good luck with your hand.
Ken Forkish isn't the only person in the world who can produce great bread, so his unusual techniques aren't necessary. You can use the KA to do a brief mix, then resort to a series of stretch & folds, maybe 3 total before shaping. You probably could do this with the fingers of one hand and maybe the back of the other hand. No thumb required.
When I had surgery on both hands a few weeks apart, I adapted a few recipes to a batter bread. They are mixed in a stand mixer (K5A), scooped into a pan,risen once and baked. To scoop, I tilted the bowl at the sink edge with the bread pan in the sink. I was able to anchor the bowl with an arm and use my fingers (best tool ever) to scoop the dough into the prepared pan. Not quite as tasty as kneaded but very enjoyable.
Rye bread is also more of a batter than a dough but then, again, it is a bit more chewy than an all-AP flour bread.
Another idea is to talk to PT/OT people and see what adaptive tools are available or can be made to meet your needs. I made a lot of tools and splints by myself using Model Magic (a lightweight moldable "clay" that dries-it's in the toy department), wooden spoons, nylon scrapers, various size balls, wrap, duct tape and whatever else suited my need. My tools were always better than purchased.
Good luck!
I not one to push surgery for almost anything - but I had a very good experience getting both of my hands fixed. My problems were caused by welding (holding the torch and/or rod) and from hammering and holding tongs in blacksmithing. I was on Medicare so the cost was not out of this world. Get it fixed before the nerve damage is so great it will limit healing. In one case it took 6 months to return to normal. Don't have both hands done at once.
You said your PT had advice - ask about repair. I have found that I get very good advice from my PT folks.
I recently found this book: "How to make bread" by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou. Some of his breads involve a lot less hand word. You can also try this link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/overnight-sourdough-bread/
Hope this helps!