My bread machine broke the other day. So I dusted off this thing. It's
like an egg beater, only you can use "dough hooks". These are helical
(pig tail) in shape. The (cylindrical) bowl spins around as the dough
hooks turn, mixing and kneading the dough. I guess. I've only ever used
ABM's before. I've noticed a lot of differences, and since I can't find
the manual, have no way of knowing what's normal and what's not. Maybe
you can tell me
(1) The dough never does form a smooth ball as it does on the ABM. Is
this the way they're supposed to work?
(2) There are 3 speeds. I use the slowest, since I figure this will
provide the best kneading. But as the dough gets thicker, the bowl and
the dough hooks start to slow down. The motor sounds like it is being
overloaded. I can switch to a higher speed, but is this the right thing
to do?
(3) I don't know how long to mix, nor can I tell when the dough is mixed
(and/or kneaded) by looking. Any hints?
Thanks.
Robert Bursey