Making bread on Stand Mixer

Question

I am a novice at making bread from freshly milled flour. I have a kitchen aid mixer and am using the dough hook to knead bread. Do I need to:

1. Knead it more by hand once I turn it out? how long
2. Put it in an oiled bowl to rise for 1 hour?
3. Form loaves and let loaves rise again slightly above pan (about 30 minutes or so)?

Most directions I find are for a BOSCH Universal mixer....I'm just not there yet!

Answer 1

1. Knead it in the machine until it is ready. No further kneading by hand necessary. If you don't know how to recognize dough which is ready, make one small batch with high hydration (75-85%) by hand, kneading without stick prevention (flour, oil or water). Just take the goo in one hand, stretch and fold onto the other in the air, and continue. Try doing it until it actually goes over the best point and starts getting worse (may take you well over an hour). Pay attention to the changes in the dough all the time. Now you will know what good dough looks and feels like. The next time, you can let the mixer mix a small batch until it gets reasonably close.

   2. Put it in a bowl to rise until it has doubled in volume. Don't measure by the clock.

   3. Knock down by hand, back into the bowl, second rising. Again, wait to double.

   4. Form it into the desired shape. You can place it in pans at that time if you're going to bake in pans. For this final rising, wait until it looks ready, time is again not a good criterion. Doubling can happen, or not.

This assumes commercial yeast bread. Sourdough needs a different process.

Answer 2

Using a stand mixer with a bread hook attachment is wonderful. I used to make my bread by hand before I got my stand mixer.

1. The stand mixer kneading is all you "knead". Every couple minutes, stop the mixer and scrap the sides off of the bowl with a spatula and all the dough off the hook. It will take about 10 minutes to knead in the stand mixer. Scrape it down 2-3 times total.

2. Yes, but it may take more or less time. Just let it double in size. I put my stand mixer bowl in the oven to let it rise as my house is cold. Just set the oven to warm (lowest setting possible) for 3 minutes then turn it off. Keep your bread dough in the mixer bowl, and pop it in the turned off oven.

3. Rising above the pan doesn't matter. If you put too little dough in the pan and wait for it to rise above the rim, you will over proof your bread. Just wait till it's doubled and then bake it according to your recipe.