Advice and input needed on selecting a new mixer
Hello,
I am new here and decided to join this community due to I have done quite a bit of baking in the past 10 years and would like to continue to build my skill set. The reason I am writing this post is currently my second mixer has failed in less than 2 years of purchasing it due to motor oil leaking out of the top part of the machine and I have been trying to not make the same mistakes as in the past, but I find it very hard to figure out what mixers would be a good choice to buy and what ones wouldn't be. The problem with my first one was it was a 4 QT mixer that the motor ended up burning out in it a couple of years from getting it. The current second mixer that I have is an 8 Qt mixer however I made the mistake of buying a bad product not only due to the motor oil problem but the manufacter decided to put a big bowl on the same type of machine as the first mixer in which whenever the bread dough is finished mixing there is always not incorporated ingredients at the bottom of the bowl.
The current specifications to lower the parameters of the type of mixer that I am roughly looking for is I want a mixer that can knead at most the following recipe rustic sourdough bread http://fireandfocaccia.nowhere-else.co.uk/ that makes approximately 10 kg of sourdough bread at one time, but also if possible a mixer that can mix up to one loaf of bread. I have been trying to look through Amazon for mixers, but I find it so hard to determine what mixer is a good product and bad product, and I have also seen countless reviews of Amazon damaging the item during transit and not wanting to take ownership for it. I just find it so hard to go off the web to determine what mixer would be a good choice and how it will behave with the dough when being used. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have the Ankarsum and highly recommend it.
KitchenAid bowl lift for me.
I hold the view that the KitchenAid does everything non-bread better than Ankarsum and Bosch. What the KitchenAid lacks (which isn't much) in bread making, it overcomes in the other areas: whipped cream, mashed potatoes, etc.
Versatility is the hallmark of the KitchenAid. They are used by chefs around the world for a reason.
But 10 kg of dough in a home KA? Really?
TomP
Hi, Dough_man123.
I'm curious as to the hydration of the dough you're looking to mix, as a higher hydration can allow a weaker mixer to mix a large amount of dough, while a drier dough will require more power. My typical hydration levels for "rustic" breads are 70-85%, with the most oft used centered right about 75%. This gives an open crumb with lots of rustic character, but also allows for very little kneading, and so doesn't require a mixer at all. 3-5 folds, 30 minutes apart pulling each side over the top and stretching the dough in the mixing bowl during the first couple hours of bulk ferment gives a fantastic gluten structure. This can be done with hands or a flexible dough scraper dipped in a small bowl of water, but I highly recommend using your hands for this as you'll gain a lot of understanding and muscle memory to guide you in future endeavors. Yes, the dough will seem very sticky at first, but the water will prevent sticking to your hands of scraper. As the gluten develops, the stickiness will subside.
I use a Kitchenaid KSM8990 Commercial mixer for most of my lower-hydration, heavily kneaded doughs, but it won't handle more than about 8 pounds of dough, max. 10KG of dough is a LOT of dough, and unless you're doing this as a commercial enterprise, it is difficult for me to imagine a family home using nearly that much bread before it went stale. Homemade breads without preservatives are best used within a day or two of baking, though freezing works well with many breads with only a slight difference in quality if properly frozen.
My best advice here would be to consider at length what specific kinds of bread, and in particular, the hydration levels (see below). Higher hydration gives you larger "rustic" variations in the crumb, but also allows the gluten strands and structure to form almost entirely on their own with minimal assistance from us.
Hope this helps!
-Randem (aka Simplicity is Important)
Quick note on understanding hydration - Hydration percentage is usually calculated as the ratio of water to flour in percentage, and in most all recipes you'll find, only the water in the recipe is figured into it. Consider flour WEIGHT to be 100%, then divide the WEIGHT of the WATER in the recipe by the WEIGHT of the FLOUR. ALWAYS use WEIGHT for this calculation, as one baker's cup of flour weighs different from another's, and an equal volume measure of water and flour does not have an equal weight between the two.
Thus, a recipe with (numbers selected for simplicity) 1,000g flour, and 600g water would be
600 ÷ 1,000 = 0.6, aka 60% hydration. (Water WEIGHT ÷ Flour WEIGHT = Hydration)
Missed the 10kg requirement.
WHICH TYPE
If you are mainly dough, then you can decide if your spiral, planetary or twin arm mixer. Each has its advantages.
SIZE
10kg dough would put you over a 10 quart bowl - more like a 20 quart. But my advice is don't think like this is just a domestic mixer when you are dealing with this size dough unless you are looking to be on a constant replacement treadmill. It isn't just power, it is how well the machine is put together - and with that - its ability to withstand the constant torque and forces.
PLANETARY
If you are looking at a planetary, what ever the second hand auction site is in your area, have a look to see if there are any good Hobart A200s at a reasonable price - they can be quite reasonably priced as there is a big market for these as they are quite common for small businesses. There is a 12qt model but the attachments are quite rare where as the 20qt is still common so new bowls, beaters and attachments can be easily found.
Typically the A200 is at that size where it still runs on single phase power so easy in non commercial settings (but do check the motor plate to confirm).