March 26, 2011 - 6:56am
Beginner Question...Kneading by hand vs KitchenAid
I made several Italian breads yesterday. All of them began the same way.... Then, you stirred ingrediants in bowl with wooden spoon. Then you used one hand to fold over dough towards center while spinning bowl with other hand. Then came the kneading time...20 minutes or so with 1-2 minute rests along the way.
IS THERE A STANDARD CONVERSION FOR MAKING THE MIX WITH A KITCHENAID MIXER? Does it take 10 minutes? 20 minutes?
I know at some point you get an eye for it or you can touch the dough and see that its right, but I need some general recommendations here. I've made pizza doughs with the kitchenaid and really had no idea when they were done mixing. HOW DO I KNOW WHEN ITS DONE?
HELP PLEASE
THANKS!
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Generally, you'll know that the dough is kneaded sufficiently when it passes the windowpane test.
This is a test to see if you’ve kneaded the dough long enough to develop the gluten strands correctly. Simply grab a small chunk of the dough and stretch it out so you have a very, very thin sheet that, if help up to light, is nearly transluscent.
If you can do this without the dough sheet breaking or getting holes, your dough is well developed. If you get holes before you can get the sheet translucent, you need a little more kneading or stretching time. Check again after another 5 minutes of kneading or after another stretch.
You may also find that allowing the dough to simply rest or Autolyze will allow the gluten to develop properly.
Some doughs made with other types of flour such as rye will have real issues getting a good windowpane as they do not contain the amount of gluten found in wheat flour.
Happy baking,
Paul
Yumarama
Thanks a bunch Paul...I've been wondering this for over a year!
KA mixer + dough hook @#2 for approx. 5 - 6 minutes will get you started. At that point, do the window pane test and adjust as necessary.
I've had some success with developing a good window pane! Now I'm making some more Italian breads with more wheat flour in them...a sourdough wheat and a 9 grain. Will it take more or less time with the kitchenaid? Will the window pane rule be the same?
thanks!
That's speculative. But your window pane test results should be essentially the same if it's kneaded properly. Use your normal procedure. Check your window pane results and adjust from there.