I've used a food processor many times, especially for pizza dough but
I no longer use it. I now make very soft, wet dough for almost all
my breads and pizzas and the food processor does not work well on
soft or wet dough.
1. Three or four cups of flour are about the limit for most food
processors. Start with a 3 cup batch and see how your food processor
handles it. The end result should be a firm dough. Wet dough gets
sucked under the blade and between the blade and turning post. It
also won't form a ball.
2. There is always a discussion about whether to use the metal or
plastic blade for kneading. The purpose of kneading is to build an
interconnected gluten network so it seems to me the metal blade would
chop through the gluten network as it rotates through the
dough. Also I worried that the cutting action of the metal blade
would heat the dough more so I always used the plastic blade.
3. Add one or two ice cubes to your liquid measuring cup BEFORE
adding and measuring the water. The volume difference between ice
and water is trivial for baking purposes. (Or weigh the ice and
water). Pour off a small amount (1/4 cup) of the ice water and heat
to approx. 100 F and dissolve the yeast in the warmed water. Even
instant yeast should be dissolved in the warm water rather than
relying on it dissolving in ice water.
4. After 5 minutes pour the dissolved yeast mixture back into the ice
water. Wait for the ice to melt completely. Once activated, dry or
instant yeast will not be affected by the ice water.
5. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, etc) in the processor by pulsing.
6. Turn the processor on and pour the wet mix slowly though the pour
spout. In a few seconds the dough will start to form a ball. After
20 or 30 seconds most of the dough will be incorporated into the
dough ball and it will start to rotate around the bowl. STOP !
7. The dough should still be cool to the touch. Let the dough
hydrate for 15-20 minutes. Firm dough take longer to hydrate.
8. Run the processor for 20 to 30 seconds to knead. The dough ball
will now be warm. If you have a thermometer, measure the
dough. You would like the dough to not get warmer than 78 F.
9. Knead by hand for a few minutes to build a unified structure into the dough.