Phil (philmguy@wwa.com) said:
>I'm happy to be the owner of a new Kitchen Aid mixer, but I'm wondering
>about the length of time dough should be kneaded with the dough hook.
>Kitchen Aid says 2 minutes, which I find hard to believe. Betsy
>Oppenneer's book recommends using the paddle for mixing, then the dough
>hook for 5 minutes, and Bernard Clayton recommends the paddle for mixing
>and then the dough hook using the same amount of time as you'd use hand
>kneading.
>I've always hand kneaded about 15 minutes and would think something
>approaching that would be reasonable with the Kitchen Aid, too.
>I'd appreciate advice from the Kitchen Aid owners out there.
I never bother with the flat paddle for yeast breads. I find that the
dough hook does a good enough job on the initial mixing. After I have
mixed together the initial quantity of flour with the yeast and other
ingredients, I start gradually adding more flour. When the dough ball
cleans the bowl, I stop adding flour, except for a sprinkle or two if it
seems sticky. Once I get to that stage, I knead (on speed 2) for 7-10
minutes, at which time the dough usually has the desired feel to it. I
don't think a full 15 minutes would be a good idea. It *is* possible to
overknead dough when doing it by machine, and the KitchenAid does knead
more quickly than a person can. As always, your fingers are the best
guides. If you've been hand-kneading all this time, then you know what
well-kneaded dough feels like. Stop now and then and check it.
Hope this helps.
--
Harper *** Robin Carroll-Mann
harper@tribeca.ios.com OR rcmann@delphi.com
"Mostly Harmless" -- Douglas Adams
Harper's Bread Basket *** http://www.geocities.com/heartland/3967