Wanted! Industrial steam roller to knead my BBA Poilane-style Miche. Anyone have one?
So this is my second attempt at making this bread. Actually, the first one turned out beautifully, but this is what I did differently.
I made the Firm Starter, then had to leave for business. So instead of leaving it overnight, it was in my fridge for about 10 days. It was fine when I got back yesterday, so this morning I got down to it. I followed the next steps, and mixed it by hand and kneaded it in the bowl for a few minutes, but MAN, my wrists (and entire body weight) were no match for it. I had to stop kneading it obviously, so its sitting on my kitchen counter covered in a towel. What should i do? That is one seriously dense dough!
Also, as an aside, I made the BBA Potato, Cheddar and Chive Torpedos and they were FANTASTIC! Highly recommend everyone give that one a try.
Mini
I left it as I said to see if it would rise, but it didn't. It is so dense and heavy I think I need to just start again.
If it's too stiff maybe you need more water.
I mix my BBA Poilane style miche in the KitchenAid Pro 600 mixer and it seems to do a good job.
I should have added more water but it was so hard to mix it I sort of gave up. I don't have a mixer, but I really want one! I'm getting married next month maybe i should register for one : ) Would you recommend the KitchenAid Pro 600 over anything else?
Thanks for your comments!
I don't have much experience with other mixers but the KitchenAid pro 600 works well as long as I'm mixing at least 2 pounds of dough. I've used it for up to 6 lbs. of dough with no problem.
I've seen the TMB baking table-top spiral mixer in action when I was taking a class at the SF Baking Institute. If I could afford a mixer just for bread I would get it. I don't know the cost but you but you could call them and ask. It is one speed (between first and second speed) and a fixed bowl. It works like a big commercial spiral mixer but it's a good size for a home kitchen. It might be kind of expensive, though. More info is at http://www.tmbbaking.com/sp5.html .
Good luck...
-greg
I have a Kitchen Aid 520 PRO. It's everything I want (unless I can get a larger kitchen :-). 4 lbs. of dough is it's upper limit. Which also max's out my 1/2 sized convection oven. After reading this forum on the subject of mixer quality, I took mine apart to make sure there were no plastic parts inside. Mine is all steel with sintered bronze journals. Whew!!!
There is a lot of comment, on this site, about Kitchen Aid's quality since Hobart sold the brand.
Both my wife and I bake. We make different things at the same time. We have fun doing it. Bread making has a lot of wait time built in. We sit down over a "nice cup of tea" and figure out who gets to use the mixer or oven next and at what temperature. Most other foods don't have the wait time, the "schedule" gets hectic, we get in each other's way, and the fun dissapears. We still bake together.
The best of good fortune to you.
You can still use it. Sounds like it just got overfed like a firm starter ready for storage. Give it more time. It may turn out to be a real flavourful loaf.
To add water, cut it up into smaller pieces (save one for the fridge, roll into a ball, use middle in a week from now) throw into a bowl and pour a cup of warm water over it, cover and let rest 20 minutes, then squish away to mix. Let rest 20 minutes if it still appears stiff or before adding additional flour.
Mini
I think if you were to take it out of the fridge and let it thaw for a couple of hours before trying to handle it, it would be more maleable. It would probably be softer at room temp than straight out of the fridge. And probably add some extra water as well.