Switched from a stand mixer to hand kneading and its been a game changer for my sandwich bread

I used to always dump my dough into my KitchenAid and let it run for 8 minutes on speed 2. It worked fine for years but I noticed my loaves were always a little dense. About 3 months ago my mixer broke down and I had to knead a batch of dough by hand out of necessity. I was shocked at how much better I could feel the gluten develop and the texture of my bread improved dramatically. Now I only use the mixer for heavy things like bagel dough or stiff rye bread. Has anyone else switched methods and seen a big difference in their results?

2 comments

2 Comments

rubys8011d ago

Oh man, right there with you - I had the exact same revelation when my old mixer quit on me last winter. Hand kneading just gives you that instant feedback on when the dough is actually ready, and my sandwich bread turned out way fluffier than before. I still bust out the mixer for anything with whole wheat or nuts though, that stuff is just too much work by hand.

mila_harris11d ago

agree with you on the whole wheat and nuts thing lol that stuff is like kneading concrete by hand. i started adding seeds to my dough too and now i just use the mixer for that mess, saves my arms from wanting to fall off.