Assistent Original (aka Magic Mill DLX) really worth it...?
Hi everyone.
I currently own a Kenwood KMC560 Premier Chef for kneading my yeast dough (spelt flour and no sourdough). Unfortunately I'm more than unhappy with it for various reasons. Amongst others, it requires my full attention while kneading the dough which works its way up to the mechanics fast and is a pita to clean up afterwards. Besides that, I'm not very impressed with the kneading quality as such.
So I'm looking for a replacement and read a lot of posts and a lot of forums. :-) One thing that usually came up was the great satisfaction with the Assistent Original (aka Magic Mill DLX). Now I am still not sold on the idea of how the machine works/kneads. So I'd look to ask straigh ahead: Is it really that great? I usually knead the ingredients together by machine for 1-2 minutes until they are sufficiently mixed and let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes (autolyze) and continue by adding some small amount of water and all of the salt (amongst other things). I'll let the machine knead until the dough has reached a medium to well developed state depending on what I want. So my doubts are with the second stage. Does the kneading of the Assistent really manage to mix all the salt uniformly into the dough after the autolyze if I use the dough hook or the roller for example? This hasn't been a problem with the KMC560- one of the very few upsides of that machine.
By the way, due to health issues, I only use spelt flour which results in a somewhat more sticky dough which is more prone to over-kneading. Would this be okay for the Assistent? And last but not least, I'd throw my two batches together once I get the Assistent and make just one batch with somewhat around 2,4kg of spelt flour and approx. 70% hydration. That would save me time and work. Would that amount be managable for Assistent?
I'd appreciate any input. I burnt a lot of money on the KMC560 and that's even worth considering I am a student and always low on funds. :-) So I'm very cautious not to make the same mistake again.
Thanks again in advance.
So long,
matthew from Germany
Bosch Universal Plus for $359 ?
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/Bosch_Universal_Plus_Mixer_MUM6N10UC.aspx
Mechanical help can be invaluable for some of us oldsters and others with physical issues, and for making tens of loaves all at once. But if you don't fall into one of those categories, you may not need anything at all.
It seems to me that a first-rate mixer will cost at least a few hundred dollars and a first-rate kneader will cost many hundreds of dollars. But for making artisan-style breads with techniques like autolyse, French fold, and stretch and fold, mechanical help may not even be particularly useful.
SteveB's website has some musings on mixing that you may find helpful.