Magic Mill DLX
Food Prospector
If so, when and how?
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Kim, Merritt Island, Florida 32952
wff_ng_6
> Does anyone use the dough hook on their Magic Mill DLX?
>
> If so, when and how?
I got my Magic Mill about 5 years ago and got the dough hook for it almost
immediately. I found the roller system really didn't work that well for
large batches of dough, particularly for rye bread which I make most often.
For rye bread, I am making four large loaves in one batch, taking about 16
cups of flour (about 7 rye and 9 regular bread flour). Sometimes I make
french bread using about the same amount of flour, and sometimes kaiser
rolls, using about half the flour. I also use it to make dough for a single
pizza using a mere 2 cups of flour. I did that last night.
The dough tends to rotate between the hook and the bowl, around either one
of the two vertical sections of the hook. This is what produces the
kneading.
For cake batters, pumpkin pie filling, and cookie doughs, I use the standard
roller system. It works just fine for those.
I've never had a "standard" mixer like a Kitchen Aide myself, I've only used
my parent's one and that was many moons ago. And I never used their mixer
with a dough hook. So I don't personally have comparative experience. But I
have made literally hundreds and hundreds of loaves of rye and french bread
with my Magic Mill over the past 5 years. I'm very satisfied in how it works
with the dough hook. I would have been severely disappointed just using the
roller setup.
Food Prospector
moves, right?
My dough may have been too dry, but when I tried using the dough hook, the
dough just sat like a lump being pushed by the hook while the bowl spun
around and the whole setup didn't seem to do anything.
Am I doing something wrong?
"wff_ng_6" <wff_...@verizon.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:znu2c.76417$C65....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
wff_ng_6
> I guess what confuses me is that the dough hook is stationary and the bowl
> moves, right?
Yes
> My dough may have been too dry, but when I tried using the dough hook, the
> dough just sat like a lump being pushed by the hook while the bowl spun
> around and the whole setup didn't seem to do anything.
>
> Am I doing something wrong?
One thing that's probably critical is to start with all the liquid and half
the total flour in the bowl before starting. I then slowly add the remaining
flour, stopping when I get to the consistency I want. I do use a spoon to
coax things along, even though there is a safety warning on not putting any
tools in the bowl while it is moving. Just make sure not to let the tools
get caught in the mechanism (dough hook or roller). I also move the swinging
arm toward the bowl center (which moves either the dough hook or roller
along with it) to help mix ingredients. I did that tonight on a cake batter
to help cream the butter and sugar together, and to help mix in the eggs as
I added them.
Where the dough tends to rotate on the dough hook seems to depend on the
amount of dough and its stiffness. Sometimes it goes around the vertical
part near the scraper, sometimes on the more angled part toward the other
end. In any case, particularly with lots of dough, the dough tends to climb
up the vertical sections of the hook and out of the bowl. So it has to be
watched. The on/off knob has a timer provision, but I find for dough the
mixer has to be watched so it doesn't climb out, so I never use the timer.
It probably takes a while to really get a hang on how things work with this
mixer, but I think it is pretty effective particularly for large batches of
dough. Other less capable mixers bog down under those conditions. I've been
using mine for five years now, so I am pretty comfortable with it.
zerkanX
I agree that this mixer is great as long as you kinda get in the swing
of things as it were.
I've been mixing up 7-10lb batches with this with the roller. the
roller lock, as in lack-lock, is the thing that keeps giving me
problems. If I crank on the locking nut I can get it to stay the
proper distance from the bowel and therefore nothing will climb up or
out and the dough is mixed up pretty fast. For smaller batches, say
2-3 lbs the roller developers the dough in an amazingly short time.
Usually I dump the water in then all of the flour, then yeast.Turn it
on and swing the arm back and forth until the flour gets hydrated
then it usually goes ok for the rest of the time.