May 3, 2011 - 11:31am
Dough hook for KitchenAid 3 quart mixing bowl
I saw a 3 quart SS mixing bowl for my 6-quart KitchenAid mixer model (KP-26) on Amazon. I'd like to buy one for mixing small batches of dough, but I'm pretty sure that my current dough hook would be too long for the small bowl.
Are there any bowls/dough hook combinations other than the 6 quart size that I could use on my machine? My current spiral-shaped hook doesn't really grab the dough well unless I use about 600g of flour or more. I could use the beater blade, then the hook, but I want to avoid that, if possible.
Share
The small bowl was probably not designed for dough. If you're doing a small batch you might consider a food processor. Don't forget you can use what god gave you; your hands.
Jim
I use a food processor for small batches of relatively stiff dough, using ice water and keeping a hand on the processor to monitor dough temperature, however this will not work for very wet doughs, like Jason's Coccodrillo Ciabatta recipe, idem for hand mixing. It's usually a messy cleanup in any case, compared to the mixer.
Lets put our thinking caps on and see what comes about. Throw out your best and worst ideas; let's brain storm and see what we can come up with. We have a mess to clean up or clean up less.
The game is afoot Watson!
Jim
If your still out there looking for an idea; how about a large plastic heavy duty freezer bag. Put the ingredients into the bag and mix an knead away. I make a fairly wet pizza dough that I place in a freezer bag for an overnite. You'll be surprised how it firms up with the overnite rest. To remove, use a sharp knife and cut the bag open, big X, and using damp hands release the dough from the bag.
Jim
That's a good idea. I actually use a ziptop plastic bag already if I decide to make a poolish, as it's easy to mix and the dough slides out pretty easily. Even easier if you give the bag a quick spray of oil before putting in the flour, yeast and water. Then just toss the bag in the rubbish bin. I get them at the dollar store or Aldi very cheaply. I do this when making biga, too except the dough gets mixed with the mixer first.
I have changed my mind about the need for a small dough hook as I have found that the beater blade works OK for small quantities of dough, even in a 6 quart mixer bowl. I can switch to the regular dough hook when the dough comes together. I have also found that the beater blade works very quickly when making a biga, much faster than the dough hook. I have started to use a 12-16 hr 45% hydration biga for about everything now as I find that it works as well or better than a poolish. It just takes more planning. Anything I don't use in one day goes into the fridge. I use Hodgsen Mill AP as it has no additives at all and is only 10% protein. Then if I need to, I can boost the gluten, add diastatic malt, and other flours as needed for the bread types I decide to make that day. I have made ciabatta, baguettes, rosetta rolls, and grissini all in the same day from the same batch of biga.
Happy to be of service. Just e-mail me a check for $0.02 {:-)))
Jim