Any serious bakers out there? Need help with mixer advice

ktym

I really have to watch how I use my arm due to LE. I've also had to switch to gluten free recently. I'm finding baking my own bread is the best way to go, however, mixing the dough is hard on my arm. I want to invest in a good stand mixer, but, the selection and options are bewildering. Anyone have advice on a stand mixer that can handle heavy dough and doesn't break the bank? It doesn't need to be pretty, just functional and dependable.

kira66715

KMMD, you've got to "talk" to Carol, she's a very serious baker--takes classes and makes amazing bread. Personally, I've done two things when I've made bread: 1) a Kitchenaid mixer with the bread hook and 2) I've used my food processor, also a Kitchenaid, with--rather than the plastic dough piece--the regular mixer blade.

I have this book, which is now out of print, that advocated using a mixer for brief periods of time to knead dough.

Here's an example recipe from King Arthur flour--where Carol takes bread making classes--of food processor bread:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/food-processor-french-style-bread-recipe

My older daughter has celiac disease, and went gluten free about 8 years ago. Initially it was sooo hard to find good gluten free baking products, and now it's become a lot easier. We buy a lot of "Bob's Red Mill" products--for some reason they're sold in local discount stores (Christmas Tree Shops/Job Lot), and there's always Whole Foods and a lot in local grocery stores now.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Carol is the real expert.

MelissaDallas

I'm a serious baker and canner and have had my Kitchen-aid for close to 20 years. It does a beautiful job mixing and kneading bread dough. They are not cheap, but "'Tis the Season" and they will be on sale all over the place for Christmas. Sometimes they are on Amazon's daily deal for really good prices too.

I have the grinder & sausage stuffer attachments too. I ground my way through a huge pile of veggies, including cabbage, to make an enormous batch of chow chow last summer. Also many pounds of apples to make apple butter.

4sewwhat

I concur on the Kitchen Aid. I have been a cake decorator for 25+ years and a baker and have more than one Kitchen Aid. Have tried a few others, just not the same. I am still using the K A I got as a wedding gift 21 years ago and my mom has one older than that! Get the kind that raises the bowl up though, not the kind that the head tilts up. The one the bowl snaps on and raises are usually the 5 or 6 quart models.

Costco sometimes has them on a "coupon" with extra stuff too. Good luck!!

carol57

Kira is too kind regarding my baking skills. I do love to bake bread, that's for sure, and I'm learning to make hand shaped artisan loaves, hence the repeat trips to baking school. I lived in France for a year and I WANT that baguette! Anyway, kmmd, I also have embarked on gluten free bread adventures, not for myself, but for a few folks I love who need to go that route. I cannot say that I find GF bread to be as lovely as wheat products--shaping and slashing really do not pertain--but with some experimentation and an open mind, there's some nice product 'out there.' The mixing method is quite different from traditional wheat bread, and I agree with you that it's hard on the arm. I can do a beautiful wheat bread start to finish with hand kneading and not disturb my LE arm, but with GF, there's a bodacious amount of mixing that is designed to incorporate lots of air, and that's more hard work than my poor LE arm can do. So you are spot on with the mixer idea.

I too use a Kitchen Aid, the one I've had for 25 years and has not let me down. I'm actually considering asking Santa to upgrade my Kitchen Aid this year, to one that's larger and has more horsepower, for when I do several kinds of breads that I don't do by hand, and that I bake in large volume. So I've been reading reviews lately, and there's a certain sentiment that ever since Whirlpool purchased Kitchen Aid some years ago, there have been parts substitutes --plastic instead of metal--and the machines don't last as they traditionally have. So I do endorse Kitchen Aid from my own experience, but read reviews carefully.

And happy baking!

Carol

Tishfin

I agree...I love my Kitchen Aid! I is a bit pricey but, I have had it for 15 years

auntienance

I have a Kitchenaid Professional model which does an awesome job on bread. I have arthritic hands which make  kneading impossible. It handles the stiffest doughs with ease.

hugz4u

kmmd. You will have to do a search and read some of Carols bread baking experiences. I am sorry I can't give you any advice on bread making, my tennis elbows, LE and bad shoulders don't have the luxury to knead bread.

For those that need inspiration: 89 year old ma is still kneading bread for over 75 years. She will NEVER give it up. She says it is therapeutic.It has got her over many rocky times in the past and makes her feel good. I quote " I just Luvvvvvvv kneading dough" I am sure she will die with a garden shovel in one hand and dough in the other! She makes the best cinnamon buns and poppyseed rolls. Use to make doughnuts when I was young too and butter horns. OH stop me! Since about age 80, she has also added East Indian cooking to her skills. Please stop me!

exbrnxgrl

another long time Kitchen Aid fan here!

ktym

hugz4u, I love hearing about you ma. My grandmother making cinnamon rolls every weekend is one of my favorite memories of childhood.

I've been reading the same thing about the newer kitchen aid's which makes me nervous. I definitely need to find a good stand mixer. The bread so far is tasting good, but could be used as a boat anchor. I beat it till my arm couldn't take more but it wasn't enough. Carol was right. So, I appreciate the feedback because I'm determined to find a way to make this work.

carol57

My mom has used the same Kitchen Aid since 1960-ish. I think she had it repaired once in all these years.

kira66715

Interesting about Kitchenaid after Whirlpool: my mixer is 28 years old and great.

I had two Kitchenaid stoves in the last decade that were constantly breaking down.

KittyDog

I also have had a kitchen aid for many years. Sent it back once for repair. I don't use it much anymore...just don't have the arm strength anymore.

Blessings2011

KitchenAid Artisan. Love it!

(Soooo wish I could make some GF bread that didn't taste like sawdust or a hockey puck...)

ktym

Thank you everyone for the advice. We came across some info that kitchen aide is trying to correct in the last couple of years some of the mechanical problems. So, took the plunge and bought one (and found a fantastic sale -- yay!). I'm going to try to see if I can do slightly better than a hockey puck Blessings, but, I SO know what you mean. How is it possible that gluten free bread can simultaneously taste and feel like a hockey puck, and disintegrate into a wet mess in the middle when it is toasted?

Anonymous

Guys what is hockey puck?

Blessings2011

Musical - have you ever watched an ice hockey game? The hockey puck is the little black round disk - made of hard, dense rubber - that they whack around and try to hit into the goal.

When you make bread and baked goods without gluten, unfortunately, they can turn out either very dry and crumbly, or hard as a rock... or a hockey puck.

This is not a good thing.

Anonymous

Thx Blessings for the explanation. No I havent watched ice hockey but now I know.....and could imagine lol. I know my brother tried gluten free and he just couldn't cope with it, and that was cooked at a proper bakery. Ive never tried it. Sounds quite problematic to get it right.

Now I have to figure out what the equivalent is in NZ for what you ladies are describing as your venerable "Kitchen Aid". I too find some basic cooking activities somewhat rough on my arm.... like making white sauce. That really makes my arm tired, but I have a little handheld whizzy gadget and its brilliant for that. I would LOVE to make my own bread but since BC Ive wanted to make a few healthier adjustments. We had breadmakers which came out, but they had that teflon coating which Im told is not good, especially if it gets scratched. Ours has long been given the heave ho as it stopped working. I wonder if theres anything in the breadmaker line out these days with a healthier cooking surface?.

BeanBean

Kitchen aid - love it!

I don't bake gluten free but I did work for King Arthur Flour. Their test bakers are always experimenting and creating new recipes.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free/bread-rolls-and-pizza

Kathy

Anonymous

I wonder if they are as yummy as they look Cathy!

susan_02143

KitchenAid here as well. I highly recommend the Pro models if you will be doing things like bagels or biyals. Stiff doughs benefit from the extra power. The dough hook that comes with the machine is pretty good, but you can buy a super dough hook for about 12 dollars that is even better!

*susan*

wyo

Kitchen Aid is the one for me. I will have been married 30 years this January and have had my trusty mixer with me the whole time. My husband and my mixer are both "keepers" haha. He uses it as much as I do for calzone dough etc. Christmas cookie dough to whipped cream this is a staple appliance.

I bought my daughter and DIL both mixers last year for Christmas- I think I paid about $200 back in 1984 which felt like a lot of money but if you divide that cost over 30 years its paid for itself over and over again.

I hope you love it and you can continue to bake without strain on your limb.

auntienance

Susan, where do you get the super dough hook?

susan_02143

I bought mine at chefscatalog, but I am sure you can get it lots of places. I chose the coated version, so much easier to clean.

http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/22956-kitchenaid-stand-mixer-spiral-dough-hook.aspx

carol57

latenightreader, I have been going (from Michigan) to the King Arthur baking education center for several years, for multi-day courses in artisan bread baking. I love that place! I would love to work there. And one of the best reasons to try their recipes is that if they don't work as expected, you can call, email or online chat with a baker hotline--someone will help you figure out what went wrong, or will help you while you're in the middle of something. I have tried several of their gluten free recipes when baking for family who avoid gluten, and I've had more luck with their GF recipes than most others.

Susan, I think the super dough hook is available only with the pro Kitchen Aid models, no?

Speaking of bread, today I made several varieties of all-whole-wheat bread, using a method that makes the bread nice and light and airy, similar to a wonderful baguette. If I could ditch my work and bake for a living, I would (except for the hours of a professional baker, though...that would be awful!).

auntienance

I have the Pro 600 and it came with the powerknead spiral dough hook. It's burnished, wish it was coated.

Thanks for the link Susan.

Dejaboo

Kmmd I hope you dont mind if I add a Baking question to your thread (not about mixers)
I am looking for a new stove...Our 24 year old Smooth top electic is going (it is 20-40 degrees off)
I am looking at Convection ovens...We have narrowed it down to 2. 1 has 2 true convection fans in back...The other has 1. We prefer the look of the Range with 1. Do any of you have a convection oven? What do you like to bake/cook on Convection? What do you prefer on a regular oven?

I bake Gluten free for my dd. Id love some good recipes!

carol57

Dejaboo, my oven has one convection fan in the back. I find it works well for cookies, muffins, cupcakes, cakes. casseroles and roasts. It seems to speed up the baking. Where it does not work so well is with bread, where the fan-forced dry air can crust the bread too soon, creating a shell that inhibits the oven-spring rise. One disappointment I have with my oven is that the fan takes up so much space in the back, more than an inch. I have some lovely huge cookie pans I used in my last house's oven that will technically fit in my convection oven, but the pans nearly touch the front and back of the oven, so even with the fan I don't believe the air circulates properly. You might check the sizes of the useable space in those two ovens and compare them to whatever pans you're used to using.

Dejaboo

Thanks Carol, I have been meaning to check my currwent inside demensions & kept forgetting too.
it only took 3 trips upstairs today for me to remember to measure.
One sales person did point out that older stoves (liek ours) were smaller.
I still thought I would loose some space- especially in depth.
I wont loose any! I am very surprised.
My depth will stay the same & my width & height will actually increase by a few inches. The 2 we are debating on are almost the same. The fancier one is 1" wider is all

Oh- we will loose drawer storage space...Which we do like. Both that we are looking at have a warming drawer which is smaller then our current storage drawer. While we can still store items in it...it will only hold a few skillets

carol57

dejaboo, I have a warming drawer and it totally rocks! I don't use it very often, but when family are here or lots of friends, it's amazing because it keeps food warm without continuing to cook it. I've put perfectly cooked asparagus in the warming drawer and been amazed that the texture and color stay put. You do have to remember to cover things that should not dry out.

ktym

Dejaboo, no I LOVE it. I'm going through a stage where cooking and baking and finding recipes and methods and trying them seems to be very healing for me. I'm adjusting how I do things to work around the neuropathy and lymphedema. I don't know if it is the sense of control, or the nurturing, or what, but I'm finding it very therapeutic, so I love the fact we're talking about anything related to the kitchen.

I tried this gluten free bread recipe:

http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/11/bread-gluten-free/

It turned out pretty good. Still a little crumbly, but pretty good. Made very good french toast.