Frequently asked questions with answers.

 

First, two tips: 

1. The first ingredient on the ingredients list should be: PATIENCE. Then the other ingredients.

2. Never walk away from your machine! The movement of the machine could cause something to come loose or even cause the machine to 'walk' off your workbench and fall to the floor. A costly repair is then the result. And what is 10 minutes of fun with your dough? A kind of meditation, or moment to come to yourself!

 

 

Question:   

I have a Kitchenaid 5KSM125.......195, how do I know which dough hook, beater or pastry knife I need. 

 

Answer:

Kitchenaid machines actually come in 2 types. With tilting head and with lift. For all machines with a tilting head except the mini, the dough hook requires the JP12, JP12A, or the spring set if it is not on the spindle of your machine. This is the JP12set or JP12Aset. Enter the type number of your machine in search and you will find out which one we have for your machine. 

There are differences in bowl contents for machines with a lift. 5, 6, 7, 8 liters or quarts per bowl. There are the dough hooks JP1, JP1A and JP2 for these machines.

 

Question: 

At the beginning of this year I purchased the JP12A dough hook for my Kitchenaid Artisan via your website superdoughhook.com. The hook does its job very well and I am very satisfied with it. The only thing that does bother me is that my dough, especially on setting 2, has a tendency to climb 'up' the dough hook. It can even get so high that the dough ends up in the mechanism. My solution now is to simply keep a close eye on my Kitchenaid as it kneads while I do something else in the kitchen. If it rises too much, I stop the appliance and push my dough back to the bottom of the bowl.

 

Answer: 

If you are afraid that the dough will crawl up with the Superdoughhook, watch the video I made for this. With a little patience you will see the dough being pushed back down by the vertical action of the Superdoughhook. Watch the video: 

 

“With some patience/ With some patience.... SUPERDOUGHHOOK JP12”  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQzcDGITzLY&t=12s 

 

The hydration seems fine to me. You can always play with the hydration. Water is the best bread improvement and your machine will run more smoothly. First add the liquid as directed in your recipe (usually this is 60 percent flour by weight) and once kneaded, add more slowly but surely. All this with very small quantities, and always feel how the dough develops. It should feel like your earlobe. 

If you need to clean the axle, always switch off the machine first! 

Cleaning the bottom of your machine if dough has crept in is very easy if you let it dry. Then you just wipe it away. 

The black grease on the axle is food-safe fat and is therefore not harmful to health.

 

A very important tip! NEVER WALK AWAY FROM YOUR MACHINE! We have had a number of repairs from people who have left the machine alone. And if something goes wrong, for example the bowl comes loose, the hook will be stuck in the bowl and the entire gearbox will be destroyed. This is a very expensive repair! Or the machine walks off your counter and falls to the floor. Then it's really broken! 

 

As said before, the first ingredient on your list should be: PATIENCE. What are ten minutes in a human life?

 

Question: 

The dough stays on the hook like a ball.

 

Answer: 

I don't have enough information. I suspect you are asking about the original c-hook that came with the machine and which only provides horizontal movement to the dough. Our spiral dough hook has both a horizontal and a vertical movement and pushes the dough downwards. See the video:

 

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQzcDGITzLY&t=12s

 

This video is for a Kitchenaid, but the same effect applies to the Kenwood stand mixers or any other machine with our Superdoughhook.  

 

If you have our Superdoughhook, I have the following suggestion: 

first let the flour absorb the water (autolysis). So put the flour and water in the bowl. Mix this roughly for a few minutes, and leave it for about 20 minutes, half an hour and sometimes even an hour (if I forget). The flour absorbs the water and the gluten network begins to develop. This also means that you don't have to knead as long later. Then add the salt and yeast or sourdough. Then knead on setting #2 for a maximum of 10 minutes. Your machine does not cool enough at setting 1!

 

A professional baker must go to school for a number of years to receive training. We hobby bread bakers want the first loaf to be perfect....... I still remember my first loaf. I loved it, but it was a brick!  

 

Another important aspect of bread baking is the protein content in the flour. Cheap flour contains little protein (= gluten) and is good for baking cakes and cookies. For bread this must be at least 12%. You can also add gluten powder separately. Available from a supplier for bread baking products, watch this video about what gluten does: https://youtu.be/zDEcvSc2UKA  

 

Do you know the baker's formula? That's a standard recipe for making bread. 

The baker's formula for a simple bread is: 

100% flour 

1% dry yeast 

1.5-2% salt 

60-63% water 

3-5% fat (butter/oil) Butter/oil is not included in the price. hydration and is always added when the dough is well kneaded/window test. 

I do count eggs in hydration, although opinions differ on this.  

You can bake fine bread with a food processor, but if you want to bake a lot of bread, buy a real spiral kneader.

 

Question: 

The head of the machine also goes up and down a lot. 

 

Answer: 

That's a normal reaction with this Superdoughhook because it also pushes the dough down, and you may know that every action causes a reaction. You could adjust the head a little tighter. First measure how much space there is between the hook and the bowl. About one and a half centimeters is sufficient. If you raise the head you will see a bolt/screw. Here you can adjust the height of the head. Just take a look at your owner's manual. If it is slightly lower, the head will also swing less. You have to decide for yourself whether this is still possible. Every machine is slightly different and we have taken an average for the length of our Superdoughhook.

 

After 5 minutes, see if you can pull a membrane. Usually that is not enough. Knead some more. Do not knead too long, because then the dough will become soggy and you can bake pancakes from the dough. Your dough is then over-kneaded.

 

Question: 

The dough does not become nice and smooth.

 

Answer: 

Add the butter last. Why do you want to add fat anyway? For a loaf you only need 4 ingredients: flour + water + raising agent + salt. Water is the best bread improver. The longer you let your dough rise, the tastier and longer lasting.  

A tip: do an autolysis: let the flour absorb the water first.  

To do this, I put the flour and water in the bowl. Mix that coarsely and let it stand. 20 minutes, half an hour and sometimes even an hour (if I forget). Then the flour absorbs the water and the gluten network starts to form, so you don't have to knead as long. Then add the salt and yeast/sourdough. You then have to knead a lot shorter to be able to pull the membrane.

 

Normally 60% of the dry matter (= flour or whole wheat) is water. See the baker's formula above. I always use! much more water. I always start with 62 to 63%, so on 500 grams of flour 315 grams!!! water (weigh water!!! and don't measure it by volume, unless you have laboratory beakers, because the precision of measuring cups varies a lot!)  

 

Then I let the mixture be kneaded as described above. Then I often add another 50 grams of water in very small amounts. A little more at first, but less and less. The dough may feel a bit sticky. The more you knead it becomes less and less sticky. Eventually it will feel like your earlobe. Nice and soft. 

 

The amount of water to add partly depends on the (air) humidity of your flour. So there is no hard and fast rule for this. Sourdough also contains water, so you should also take this into account

 

Question: 

Which food processor do you recommend? 

 

Answer: 

With the Kitchenaid Artisan you might bake a few loaves of bread per week. Always pay attention to the maximum amount of flour/wheat and never faster than setting 2. (The machine does not cool sufficiently at setting 1). 

Your machine also likes some extra water. Moreover, water is the best bread improver. The baker's formula says 60% moisture to 100% flour. I sometimes use 70%. That's quite a wet dough, but with 63% or 65% you can go a long way. I then immediately start with the 60% and then 'wash' with water little by little, until I think it is a fine dough.

If you choose the Kitchenaid or another food processor, it is an option to buy a reconditioned Kitchenaid from Superdoughhook. Take a look at refurbished machines shop on the English version of our website.

  

Question: 

What wattage should I take for a Kitchen robot? 

 

Answer: 

The difference in wattage of the different machines does not say much, because it is about the transfer of power to the dough hook (i.e. how it is driven, with gears or with a belt) and how strong the machine is. The Kitchenaid is powered by an electronic and mechanical speed controller and therefore has less power loss. 

 

I have been using my Artisan for 15 years, the last 8 years with a Superdoughhook and it still works great. But…. Never more than 800 grams of flour or 900 grams of flour and never faster than setting 2. Just look at the Kitchenaid instructions for use.

NEVER WALK AWAY FROM YOUR MACHINE!

 

If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, we are always willing to answer your questions. We would like to hear from you by phone on *-31-(0)416-336261 or by email. 

 

Sincerely, Jan