"linda grande" <lgrande99@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I, too, own the Magic Mill...in addition, I've also owned for 15 years a
> (Hobart) Kitchen Aid and I will have to echo what was said here a couple of
> weeks ago by Don Bischoff (who is the owner of a Bosch Concept and a very
> knowledgeable baker)..."for serious bakers, the Kitchen Aid is merely a
> toy"! I agree 100% and would never buy another Kitchen Aid.
My step-daughter has my first KitchenAid mixer, purchased in 1968, made by
Hobart. In fact I purchased it at the Hobart service center in Van Nuys,
California. It is still working without a hitch.
Subsequently I have purchased 3 KAs, burned out the motors on 2, still have
the third but do not use it for heavy cookie dough, bread dough or anything
that has some mass to it. It does a bang-up job of whipping cream and
eggwhites (I have the copper liner for one of the bowls just for egg
whites). It also is ok for yeast dough that is fairly wet and loose. I
would not buy another KA, they aren't what they used to be.
However I have an AEG which is the same as the DLX (made in Sweden by
Electrolux) or Magic Mill for small batches of bread and a 25-year-old 20
quart Hobart for very large batches of bread dough, cookie dough, etc.
The AEG does just fine with kneading the dough, one just has to adjust the
roller tension. It handles even very stiff dough and works it as well as
the bigger Hobart (which has to be bolted to its own heavy cart otherwise
it "walks" when working stiff dough). It is also too heavy to be moving
about and stands too tall to be on a regular kitchen counter.
If all one has, or can afford, is a KA you just have to adjust to its
shortcomings. It will not hurt a bread recipe if you hold back some of the
flour, thus keeping the dough wetter and easier to work while the machine
does the bulk of the kneading... simply wait until you feel the dough has
been worked enough by the mixer, then turn the dough out onto a bench or
into a dough trough or bowl with the remainder of the flour and work it in
by hand, it will not take a lot of effort.
I grew up in a household where bread was made entirely by hand. Then I
went to baking school (in the 50s) and worked in a bakery where all the
dough was worked by machine, including a huge horizontal mixer in which we
worked dough for 300 loaves at a time. This monster was bolted to the
floor but if the dough was too stiff we still had to disengage the clutch
and go to a lower gear - or - add a little water - to keep the motor from
straining. No matter how powerful the motor, there are just some doughs
that will be difficult for any mixer to knead.
Andie Paysinger & the PENDRAGON Basenjis, Teafer ,Singer & Player
asenji@earthlink.net So. Calif. USA "In the face of adversity, be
patient, in the face of a basenji, be prudent, be canny, be on your
guard!"
http://home.earthlink.net/~asenji/