The Fresh Loaf

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Kneading with dough hook

kmspence's picture
kmspence

Kneading with dough hook

I have a KA that is about 45 years old and has been working beautifully. However, lately, I have been trying to make whole grain breads (rye), that are more dense than white doughs. What seems to happen is that the dough climbs up the sides of the bowl, and the hook goes around mixing next to nothing left in the bottom. I push the dough into the hook with a spatula, but the dough just returns to the sides, and the dough doesn't get kneaded. Then I have to knead by hand. The most recent recipe only used about 3 cups of flour so I don't think it is the mass. Am I doing something wrong. Is it the mixer? Thanks for any help

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

What is the hydration of your dough? In other words, how much flour and how much water and other liquids do you use?

If you can take pictures, that might help. Most of the time the dough climbs the hook, not the bowl.

Dan

kmspence's picture
kmspence

My first two loaves where on the dry side, ( I increased the hydration using a new recipe each time) so with my last loaf I used a recipe that called for 31/4 cups flour (2 white, 1 1/4 rye) to 1 1/4 cups of water and 1/4 cup of molasses. When I kneaded that last loaf by hand, the dough felt good. Not dry. But it just wouldn't climb the hook in the machine. I've been making a lot of sweet doughs and they are great. Soft, climb the hook. But this one just won't. So, I can't machine knead it. Is it because the machine is old? Does the hook need to go down into the bowl more? I've seen others talk about adjusting the hook. Just puzzled.

wheatbeat's picture
wheatbeat

Rye is notoriously hard to work with and is quite sticky. Lots of factors affect where or how it sticks while mixing. But the larger problem is that KA mixers (and all planetary type mixers) are simply not very good at mixing bread dough. If you are due for an equipment upgrade and are a very dedicated bread maker, you might consider one of the excellent spiral mixers with breaker bars on the market today that are small enough for home use. There is simply no comparison.

kmspence's picture
kmspence

Wheatbeat - thanks. I was wondering about that. And rye is hard to work with? I'm kind of new to whole grain breads.

I'll explore the other machines to see if I want to upgrade. Thanks again.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

which order the ingredients go into the mixer.  Rye is very sticky but if the bowl gets wet first, it may have a tough time climbing the sides. Try mixing the wheat in first and add just enough rye to make a soft dough, let it beat to developed the gluten and then add the rest of the rye. Stand by with a fine mister or sprayer to spray the sides of the bowl before adding the rest of the rye flour.

Bob S.'s picture
Bob S.

If you have a 5 quart KA mixer with the bowl lift mechanism, it should accept one of the newer spiral dough hooks that are now available. Dough will not ride up on a spiral hook, although the motor will work harder than with a "C" type hook. Since rye dough should be mixed at slow speed and for less time, this should not be a problem for the mixer. These spiral hooks are available in coated and uncoated versions.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kitchenaid-reg-spiral-coated-dough-hook-for-professional-series-stand-mixers/1013701903?keyword=powerknead-dough-hook

https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/accessories/p.bowl-lift-burnished-powerknead-spiral-dough-hook.kns256bdh.html