I have been baking bread for many years and still enjoy the whole process, but I have now reached a time when doing it all by hand, as I prefer, is becoming physically rather painful. I have a KA mixer but find that it is not much help, needing constant attention to stop the dough climbing the dough hook and always straining and threatening to walk off the worktop.
So I have been looking at the Ankarsrum which many Fresh Loaf members appear to own and are thoroughly pleased with. Judging by what I have found by searching this site and watching some YouTube videos, the Ankarsrum should be capable of managing a large part of the process with just a little input from me, from mixing the ingredients, through autolyse and bulk fermentation all in the one bowl, right up to the point of dividing the dough etc..........or am I kidding myself?
So my questions are how do experienced Ankarsrum owners use the machine? Do you fully knead the dough and bulk ferment in the machine and not do stretch and folds, or are s & f's still part of the routine (which I am quite happy to carry on doing}?
I have no intention of giving up baking, I just wish to find a way to lighten the load a little and I am hoping that your experience can help me make the decision whether to invest in an Ankarsrum.
Inquiring minds want to know
When I use the Ankarsrum I let the machine mix and knead. Then after that I remove the dough and put it in a bulk container. Then I put that in the proofer and clean the the Ankarsrum boil.
Thank you dbazuin. That confirms what I was hoping the machine would do and I think that the bowl might even fit into my proofer which would be one less operation for me to carry out.
Alan
Do you have a B&T proofer?
No, it's a home made proofer, basically an insulated wooden box with a 40w light bulb heater and thermostatic temperature control. I haven't checked yet whether it is big enough to hold the Ank bowl but I am hopeful.
Alan, the Ankarsrum is completely capable of handling the dough up to the bulk fermentation phase. But you have the option to partially mix and manipulate the dough by hand as you wish. It’s like Burger King, you can “have it your way”.
I have owned an Ank for years, but if I had the counter space available, my kitchen would have a Famag Spiral Dough Mixer. They are heavy and large, but a spiral mixer with a breaker bar would be the cats meow!
I do love my Ankarsrum...
Danny
Thank you Danny,
That's what I was hoping to hear so I will invest in an Ankarsrum. After all, as my very tolerant wife keeps telling me about spending money "you can't take it with you!"
I did have a look at the Famag..........and wish I hadn't. I REALLY want one now but I think that would tip the tolerant wife over the edge! I do at least know what a breaker bar is now.
Alan
The Ankarsrum will not disappoint.
A great feature of the Ank is the dough doesn’t heat up much at all. I have also never ever seen the machine in a bind. I think my largest batch was 7 kilos (Total Dough Weight).
The Ank bowl will fit inside a Brod and Taylor proofer.
One more data point. I usually do the mixing of flour and water in the Ank, set it for a few minutes on low speed , and go off and do other things. When I come back, sometimes I take off the roller and scraper and try to place them in the bowl so that the top of the roller won't fall into the dough - not the end of the world, but don't like to get dough on the rubber part that rides on the bowl, and then put the Ank top on the bowl. Other times, I leave the scraper and roller in place and use a plastic cover with elastic and stretch it over the whole assembly . I think I stole that idea from Danny, not sure. After autolyse, I add the rest of the ingredients on low speed for a minute or two, then increase speed and set if for the appropriate time, and walk away, then come back after the machine has shut off, then take the dough out, and set it on a countertop under the lid for the Ank. Check back in 20 minutes, usually do a S & F, then wait 30 minutes - if it needs it , another S&F, and repeat as necessary, then into a clear straight sided container for BF, though I guess you could use the bowl from the Ank, it might be hard to just how much is has risen.
Thank you. That is really the sort of practical information I was after and it confirms what I was hoping for this machine. It is now on order and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be delayed by that wretched covid bug.
Alan
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He uses an Ankarsrum for many of his recipes, and uses the bowl for bulk ferment. Watch the videos in their entirety to see the stretch-fold. He is generally an aggressive gluten-developer using a vigorous slap-fold technique. He is a French born, French trained pastry chef.
After some years of searching YouTube for interesting breadmaking videos I am astonished that I have never come across Bruno Albouze before. The Ankarsrum has been ordered and I can search through his videos while I am waiting for it to arrive. Thanks for the info.
Alan
...is mixing/kneading with the rubber roller in contact with the bowl. Contact with bowl often results in bits of the roller flaking off into your dough.
Terry
Terry, did you buy yours new? I often make very small loads in my Ank ( the old Magic Mill ) and the roller is in contact with the rim nearly the entire time, and I have never seen any rubber flake off.
...one I bought to replace a used one purchased on eBay when the motor started acting up. The used device didn't exhibit the same behavior. Possibly due to a change in the material used? When I raised the issue on this site most of the responses suggested not running with the roller making direct contact with the bowl and that did eliminate the problem.
Terry
Terry, I would contact the seller and ask them to replace it if it is flaking. While I mostly use mine for dough, I do use it for other things, and have even used the steel bowl and the roller to whip cream - the roller stayed in contact with the bowl the entire time, and I definitely would not flakes of rubber in whipped cream. BTW, at one point the Magic Mill was offered without the plastic bowl and whips, and that was the used model I bought. Later I bought the bowl and whips and no longer use the steel bowl and roller for things like whipped cream.
Thank you for your response Terry
My machine has been on order for over a week now and I've been informed that delivery will be delayed because of that wretched bug so I have been spending some time reading through an Ankarsrum online user manual. It does say that for most operations the roller should start resting against the rim of the bowl and for some the roller stays there throughout.
It looks a if the roller you are using must be faulty.
Alan
...and they were extremely cooperative. They sent a replacement (I thought just the roller) and I got a new bowl, scraper and roller! The new one has the same issue so I've adjusted my practice to limit the damage.
Terry
Terry, I would call them back and ask if they had a bad batch. it does not make sense to me that it would flake unless there was some defect in manufacturing the rubber portion, though congrats on landing a new bowl. You can always sell it on ebay, every once in a while someone is selling the base without the bowl.