January 16, 2023 - 9:37am
Ankarsrum/Electrolux assistant help!
I've owned the Ankarsrum mixer for about half a year now and I still haven't learnt how to use it.
Can anyone confirm if making this recipe in Ankarsrum is even possible? I have tried almost everything and it is practically a cinnamon roll recipe:
- Water - 0.833kg
- Fresh yeast - 0.1kg
- Sugar - 0.291kg
- Salt - 0.0125kg
- Cardamom - 0.0125kg
- Eggs - 0.167kg eggs
- Bread flour - 2kg
- Butter - 0.292kg
DDT 26-28C. Mix to full gluten development. 15min bulk fermentation.
Last time I tried to make this I mixed 12min, 5min rest, mix another 12min, another 5min rest... and so on about 1h because it didn't reach full gluten development.
I bought Ankarsrum because I heard that many other general machines don't really work very well with bread dough, but I feel that I should have just bought Famag, Sunmix, or some second hand larger dough mixers used by the bakery.
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I bought an Ank first and then a Famag and I can tell you that I wouldn't want to park with either. If I had to keep one I would keep the Ank. A quick scan of your recipe does not seem like out of ordinary so I am not sure why you would have a problem mixing it. I have never used the hook of my Ank before so I cannot comment on that but I have used the roller to develop baguette and pizza doughs and don't recall having a problem with it. In fact, I believe I am close to wearing out the scrapper (and roller) with months of using it, as I use the scrapper a lot to stretch the dough back and forth and to create windowpanes which I call batwings. It looks like your recipe has a lot of butter which could slow down the gluten development, perhaps try to develop the gluten first and then add butter later.
Thank you.
I could try if it helps if I mix the dough until it has a good gluten development and then add butter. This is a fairly low hydration dough, which I'm afraid will cause a bit of trouble when using a roller, so I used a hook. I've also tried the roller, but I might give it another chance. Maybe also a slightly smaller amount of dough if using a roller.
The idea of using a scrapper to stretch the dough back and forth doesn't really appeal, because I'd like the mixer to do its thing while I use the mixing time to make the other components or doughs.
Yes, Teivuu, you can both mix and bulk ferment that dough in your Ankarsrum. The trick is to do it in two steps.
First, mix 1.3 kg bread flour with salt, yeast and all water. Mix on low and then knead on maximum speed to full gluten development which can take 20-25min or less, it depends on your flour.
Second, roughly mix your enriching ingredients (sugar, butter and eggs, their total weight is about 0.7kg) and spice (ground cardamom) with 0.7kg bread flour in a bowl by hand, and add it to your bread dough base inside Ankarsrum bowl, mix until incorporated for about 5 min on medium speed and let it rest for 15-20min before dividing and shaping the dough.
You would probably use the hook for that amount of bread dough, not the roller and scraper.
What Mariana said will work really well. The only thing I might do differently is to start with the flour, water and eggs. The hydration otherwise is quite low, with only 833 g of water for 2000 g of flour that is a very dry dough. Even if you hold back some of the flour to mix with the butter, which is an excellent idea as it will make adding the butter faster, the dough will still be on the dry side.
I’m only a recent Ankarsrum Assistent owner, but I’ve made quite a few enriched doughs not too far off from what you’re describing. I generally mix as I describe without premixing any flour into the butter. What I do for the butter is make sure it is really really soft. In fact I’ll place the butter in my proofing box at 82°F to make sure it very easily indents by poking it lightly, practically indenting when looking at it. Then add it gradually, I smear it over the dough in the bowl of the Ankarsrum Assistent while off. Start up the Ankarsrum Assistent and once that portion of butter is incorporated then add another etc until it is all incorporated. Also when smearing the butter on the dough I tend to smear more on the dough facing the center of the dough rather than the dough immediately facing the sides of the bowl. This way, the dough can still grip the bowl as it goes around. I have found that getting the butter on the side of the dough facing the bowl, the dough loses grip and doesn’t go around as much.
Anyhow, the Ankarsrum Assistent should work for your recipe.
Benny
Thank you for great suggestions. I too believe I should add eggs right away as eggs (especially whites) affects to the hydration too. Adding butter later should at least help because lipids prevent the movement of water into proteins. Do you prefer roller or dough hook?
I prefer the roller, I believe it is more gentle with the dough compared with the hook. I’ve been able to mix high hydration such as the 110% hydration pan de Cristal, low hydration such as gua bao, enriched dough and lean doughs all with the roller. You cannot give up on it, it does take getting used to. One thing of course is that you cannot wait for it to clear the bowl as you might with a KA stand mixer since the dough goes around in contact with the bowl. Also the dough doesn’t seem to get smooth. Instead you should stop the mixer and feel the dough, check for a windowpane periodically. I found I was mixing for far too long because I was looking for the wrong signs. I was waiting for the dough to look smooth for example. However, because the roller is course, the dough won’t look smooth. But if it pulls a good windowpane, you’re done. One letter fold on the counter and the dough is super smooth. So get your hands on that dough and check it, I think you’ll be surprised at how well developed the dough is before you think it is.
Benny