Yeast, A Life of it's Own

[mixfinder]

Today's comparison with the Kitchenaid model G and Pro620 is using the dough hook. The dough will have melted butter, warmed buttermilk and salt. It's easist to melt the butter first and then temper the buttermilk to prevent curdling. The optimum temperature is 105. If you're unsure of bread making, use a thermometer.

 

[mixfinder]

Food Moisture and Warmth

Yeast is a living organism and it needs food, moisture and warmth to get started. The bowl is prewarmed with hot water and then moisture, water warmth, 105 degrees food, honey and yeast are combined. 105 degrees is like a hot tub or what you might wash dishes in. Often we err on the side of too cool and the bread never gets a jump start. Years ago yeast was unstable and it was hard to be sure it would work. The step of Proofing or Proving the yeast was the norm although it really isn't necessary anymore. The yeast should bloom and come to life with a big yeast foam.

 

[mixfinder]

Cluck, Cluck

Two eggs are added to the buttermilk mixture to warm the eggs and then added to the yeast along with 6 cups of flour.

 

[mixfinder]

Time Limit

Kitchenaid has come forward with the incredulous pap, boasting the Kitchenaid is so powerful it only takes 2 minutes of kneading on speed 2 to make perfect bread. Anything more overworks the dough. Pure BS as they limit the time to limit the exposure of the gears to stress.

 

[mixfinder]

Climbing Jacob's Ladder

The spiral dough hook on the Pro620 is an option most bread mixers offer. The more standard C hook does a great job of kneading but the dough can climb up the hook and get on the underside of the planetary cover.

 

[mixfinder]

Listen to the Paint Dry

Setting the timer for the 20 minute wait allowing the dough to autolyse.

 

[mixfinder]

Whoa Nellie

Warm makes bread dough raise quickly. Warm water to start the yeast, warm buttermilk, fat and eggs and I ven put the flour in the microwave. In just 20 minutes the dough is nearing the top of the bowl.

 

[mixfinder]

Just Two Minutes

Kneading again for 2 minutes after the autolyse.

 

[mixfinder]

Die, I say Die

Yeast has an active life of about 4 hours. The more virulent cells grow like crazy and then expire. As they live they feed on sugar and create alcohol as a byproduct, giving bread it's charactoristic yeast or beer flavor. The recipe calls for letting the dough rise until doubled in bulk and then punching it down. The only reason to punch is to keep the dough in the bowl while we wait for the yeast to begin to die. I just turn the machine on for a few seconds. No bowl transfers in my kitchen. This took 21 minutes for the dough to double in size.

 

[mixfinder]

Take That and That

Punching down.

 

[mixfinder]

Whoa Nellie

24 minutes for the second rise.

 

[mixfinder]

Easy Does It

When ready to shape the dough ease it out of the bowl and onto the counter. Excessive manipulation of the dough reactivates the gluten making the dough harder to shape. The dough in the Pro620 with the spiral hook is notably lighter and a bit larger in size.

 

[mixfinder]

Side by Side

For the cutting (industry term for comparison) we have two equal sized loaves baked in a Corningware Bread Pan.

 

[mixfinder]

Schmear

The middle part of cinnamon rolls is referred to as schmear in a bakery. In working on the filling for Cinnabon we found egg whites beaten into the schmear kept the filling inside the finished roll instead of melting and running to the bottom of the pan. Brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and egg whites.

 

[mixfinder]

No Additives

I prefer to roll the dough directly on the counter without any flour. No mess to clean up, the dough is easier to shape as it clings to the counter and the crust on the finished roll is softer. I use a dough cutter or "bench scraper" to chop the dough into rolls leaving the goodies inside. For sticky nut buns, a tablespoon each of honey, butter, brown sugar and chopped nuts in the muffin pan before the roll.

 

[mixfinder]

If That Doesn't Frost The Cake

Glaze for the rolls is orange zest, honey or Karo and powdered sugar. Poured oveer the rolls while hot the sugar glaze sets.

 

[mixfinder]

Ready to Roll

The loaves were ready first and went in convection heat at 350 for 40 minutes. The first pan of rolls was ready 15 minutes later and joined the bread for a 25 minute sojourn.

 

[gfm8959]

Kitchenaid kneading times

Kelly-
I agree with your comment regarding the 2 min knead time. My 1981 Hobart made K45 manual tells you to knead for 7-10 min for most recipes using the C style hook. Today's Artisan using the same C style hook only recommends no more than 2 min of kneading after all the flour is added. How long do you knead the dough for in your 620?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[wetguymd]

I love reading your posts... everything always looks so wonderful! Yummmmmmm!!!

 

[mixfinder]

VooDoo Test For Doneness

Grama used thwack her loaves with a forefinger and they were done when they sounded right. Time and precise pan size and oven temperature work well and lately food techies have us using an instant read thermometer to predict donesness. Starches begin to gelatanize at 185 degrees. The higher the moisture and sugar content in the dough the higher the finished internal temp should be. The doneness temperatures range from 195 to 205.

 

[mixfinder]

2 Loaves and 5 Fishes

I can't turn water to wine but I do have feeding the multitudes down pat. Bread should be removed from the pan to prevent sweating which makes the crust soggy. Never cut hot pread. If you need to portion it, use two forks and gently separate the serving size. An electric knife is splendid for cutting hot loaves without smashing them flat.

 

[rapunzel]

I wish we had smell-o-rama

I am imagining right now what your kitchen smells like.

I love cinnamon anything and bread is food from the gods. I bake my own bread occasionally, but use pure muscle power in the process. That way I can feel when the dough is ready and love the smell during the preparation. If I had the time, I would cook and bake a lot more. It is such a wonderfully creative and sensual thing to do.

You are such a tease posting this wonderful stuff, knowing fair well that all we can do is sit here and salivate over our screens.

Keep it up.

rapunzel

 

[mixfinder]

Pluck the Center

To make sure cinnamon rolls are done, gently lift one of the center spirals. If it stretches bake it a tad longer. If it breaks away cleanly the rolls are done. Glaze while hot.

 

[mixfinder]

Are Your Buns Sticky?

The sticky rolls are an accident waiting to happen laden with molten sugar. Let them set a few minutes for the caramel to cool and then in one fearless motion, flip them over on the counter.

 

[rapunzel]

Okay! That's it!

I'm commin' over!

 

[mixfinder]

Bottom Feeder

The last dregs of the dough will end up on my bottom.

 

[mixfinder]

Here Come the Judge

I don't think I can tell any discernable difference in taste of appearance between the two batches of dough. In this contest I guess I tip the scale to Silver Surfer since he's so much quieter.

 

[mixfinder]

Bedtime Stories

The dried flour, the drippy cups and the rock hard sugary cup cake pans are going to go night night in the Maytag dishwasher. No bending over the sink for me.

 

[rapunzel]

'The last dregs of the dough will end up on my bottom&#3

Really!? Well, all I can say 'those buns look good enough to eat' and I am willing to clean up the dregs without using my hands.

rapunzel

 

[mixfinder]

Come on Over

My idea of heaven would be cooking all day long for people who loved food, had no weight issues, no food intolerances and were insanely hungry. I have no venue now that the kids are gone. I bake and I eat and my horizons are ever expanding. making bread by hand is one of the only exercises that developes the heart muscle. It is tactile, rewarding and theraputic. I knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes but usually do it in two stages. In the processor I blend the dough for 35 seconds, wait five minutes and then give it another 30 seconds. If I'm making it by hand I put in half the flour and beat it on high with the mixer for 5 minutes. Then I stir in the rest of the flour and keep kneading until the dough is smooth and shows no blisters.