Kneading With a Stand Mixer - How Much Is Enough?
I use a Kitchen aid stand mixer, Model KSM90 to make my breads.
My process includes a 100% hydration polish made from 1/3 of the flour & 0.31 [g] of Red Star Instant yeast. I ripen the polish from 10 to 12 hrs.
I autolyse @ 100% hydration using flour mixed for 1 minute with the remaining water. Autolyse time is 1/2 hr.
When autolyse is complete I add the remaining dry flour along with salt and yeast to the mixer bowl and pour the polish on top.
Then I mix for 2 minutes on "Stir" to develop a 70% hydration dough.
I had been kneading that dough for 5 to 7 minutes on speed "4". My loaves came from the oven flatter than I want.
Kitchen Aid says maximum kneading time is 2 minutes on speed "2". So I tried that yesterday. The dough passed the "window pane" test after 2 minutes of kneading. (There was a small hole in upper right corner of the pane.) The baguettes were very nice coming out of the oven. Success??!!
Kitchen Aid says 2 minutes on speed "2" is equivalent to 10-12 minutes of hand kneading. Some bread baking sites say to knead in the stand mixer for 12- 14 minutes.
My questions are, how long do you knead in your stand mixer? Am I kneading enough @ 2 minutes on speed "2"? Am I kneading too much @ 5 minutes on speed "4"?
Any advice would be be appreciated by this novice Bäcker.
Indo everything by hand but signs to look out for is the dough coming away cleanly from the sides of the bowl and when you make an indent with your finger it springs back up immediately. Also look up the window pane test.
Once the dough comes away from the bowl and that time varies depending on flour or hydration and many factors. My usual baguette routine is 8 minites on 1 (slowest) with 10% of 72% on reserve then about 2.5 minutes on top speed at which point the dough separates from the bowl however KA flour for example will take 6-7 minutes for that second phase - an example of how a different flour requires a different regimen. A good way to guage is just repeat until you discover ideal times for your particular setup. Btw a window pane will eventually tear it really a matter of finding the ideal times and finding a sweet spot that produces results youbare happy with ;)