July 8, 2010 - 4:08am
Stand mixer / spiral mixer mixing time
Hi,
I'm baking Mamelman's whole wheat bread for a couple of weeks and want to see if any of you know what is the mixing rate of Hamelman's 3 minutes on a spiral mixer first speed then 2.5 minutes on the second speed in a home stand mixer with what we call here a "knead hook" not a spiral one.
Thanks a lot,
David
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Hi David,
JH has a page on mixing guidelines at page 11 of Bread, and makes specific reference to home stand mixers.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but thought I'd mention it.
The mixing times in Bread are not valid for KA mixers. I asked the same question of JH 5 years ago. Here's my question to him and his response to me. Note the KA rpm figures- these came directly from KA.
Hi there,
I was hoping I could get this question to Jeffrey Hamelman (or if someone else could answer it). I've read his bread baking book recently and love it. However, there are some things that are a bit unclear to me. The main question I have is regarding mixing/ mixers/ rpm etc. He gives a guideline suggesting mixing most doughs to moderate gluten development-- this is typically 900-1000 rpm. Does this hold true for all mixer types? More specifically, you indicate mixing time for a KitchenAid type stand mixer to be around 21/2 minutes on 1st speed and 4-5 minutes on second speed. I received the rpm information from KitchenAid:
#1 (stir): 40 rpm
#2: 54 rpm
#3: 79 rpm
#4: 104 rpm
Therefore, mixing on 1st speed for 21/2 minutes= 100rpm
Mixing on second speed for 4-5 minutes= 216-270 rpm
This equals only 316-317 rpm. Am I missing something?
I'm wondering if I mixed on #2 for 4 min= 216 rpm + #3 for 9-10 min= 671-790, for a total of 887-1006 rpm. Or, would it make a difference doing it this way:
#1 for 4 min= 160 rpm
#4 for 7-8 min= 728-832 rpm
Total= 888-992 rpm. This has similar total RPM as original but less total mixing time (11-12 min vs 13-14 min). Does total mixing time make any difference? I would have thought a longer, slower mix (i.e. example 1) would be preferable because of less dough oxidation from increased bowl friction at higher rpm's.
I'd really appreciate someone's help with this question.
Thank you in advance.
His response to me:
Hello Franc,
My apologies to you, regarding the discrepancies about rpms in a Kitchen Aid mixer. When I wrote the bread book, I used my existing sheets of rpms, which was not exactly outdated, but certainly was incomplete. It was later brought to my attention that the modern generation of KA mixers have different rpms than the older model I continue to use (my mixer has ten speeds). I would recommend staying in first or second speeds with your machine-with longer mix times in each gear. I fear that using third or fourth my eventually harm the motor, as even loose bread doughs can be pretty stressful on home mixers. Do keep in mind that you may not need to mix the full 8-9 minutes on second to achieve the degree of gluten development that you are after, as each mixer style has a different effect on the dough (yes, this can be quite frustrating). Surely, if you use your hands to monitor development of each of your doughs, you will learn all you need to.
Forgive me for the oversight, and best of baking to you,
Happy Holidays,
Jeffrey Hamelman
Jeffrey Hamelman
Bakery Director, Certified Master Baker
The King Arthur Flour Company
135 Route 5 South
Norwich, Vermont 05055
802.526.1870 phone
802.649.3365 fax
Hope that helps.
Franc