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The Bread that Nearly Killed my Kitchenaid 610

Abondia's picture
Abondia

The Bread that Nearly Killed my Kitchenaid 610

I decided to bake the yeasted cornbread recipe featured in Collister and Blake's "Country Breads of the World". It is, afterall, the best cornbread the authors had ever eaten. My very generous husband bought me a Kitchenaid 610 professional mixer for Mother's Day last year, which is, without trying to sound arrogant, the mack daddy of kitchen mixers :). While I normally knead all my breads by hand, Ms. Collister insists that this "bread is best made in an electric mixer", so I broke out the Kitchenaid and dough hook. The recipe calls for combining the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl, adding the dry ingredients, and "mixing" on low for 4 mins, resting in the bowl for 10 mins, mixing on low for 4 mins and medium for one minute prior to the first rise. About 1.5 mins into the first "mixing", the motor of my mixer was screaming, the dough hook was stalled and the distinct odor of burning mechanical parts was wafting from the mixer. Needless to say, I finished kneading by hand. For the second knead, which I am pretty sure is not necessary, the dough was very firm and the gluten strands actually started to tear across the surface of the dough. I basically stopped the second kneading after about 2 minutes.

So, my questions are 1) Why recommend making this dough in a mixer when it can just as easily be done by hand and cannot be handled by any mortal mixer and 2) Why recommend the second kneading when the gluten begins to tear?

Here is the recipe with paraphrased instructions (Makes three loaves):

30g fresh cake yeast (I used 5 tsp SAF instant mixed with the flour)
200mL warm water
200mL cool water
2 extra large eggs, beaten
80g honey
2 tbls corn oil
~ 850 g flour (I used 6 cups, which was almost too much)
175 g fine cornmeal
150 g fresh corn kernels
4 tsp sea salt
1 egg white + 2 tsp water for glazing

Crumble yeast and warm water into mixer bowl and let stand for a minute. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir well. Add dry ingredients (except salt) and corn kernels and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Listen to mixer groan in pain and stall to a grinding halt. Leave dough in bowl, uncovered for 10 mins.

Add the salt and mix on low for 4 minutes then on medium for 1 minute. Cover and let rise for 1.5 hours until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and turn out onto floured work surface. Cut and form into three loaves and place in prepared loaf pans. Place pans in large, slightly inflated plastic bag, close tightly, and let rise until tripled in size (1.5 hours)

Preheat oven to 375F, uncover loaves and glaze. Bake for 40 mins until brown and sound hollow when tapped underneath.

Eat within 4 days or freeze for a month.