FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

wrote:
> Bob (this one) wrote:
>
>>Why do you feel that you have to add more flour? How about follow the
>>recipe closely
>
> I did follow the recipe last time and the dough didn't "ball up". I
> feel the need to add more flour because the dough doesn't stay
> balled-up for the duration of the kneading.

It won't necessarily. The dough hook will slap some against the side of
the bowl and tear itself out of the ball and pick up some more and flap
it around... depending on the kind of dough it is.

Follow the recipe all the way through one time. And do a straightforward
bread - a white bread so you can see how it should go.

>>>I just can't believe that this isn't happening to anyone else. What do
>>>you do about it?
>>
>>Has never happened to me. I use a Kitchenaid mixer with dough hook.
>
> Okay ...what does happen to you? How long do you knead and what does
> your dough look like when you knead? Does it ball-up and stay
> balled-up for ten minutes of kneading (ie. doesn't stick to the bowl)?

Different bread doughs behave differently. It sounds like you expect
them all to act the same way. Some stick - my French bread is a sticky
dough - my crusty rolls are stiffer and don't stick as much. A black rye
bread I do ends up very dense and the dough is sticky. I scrape it out
of the bowl. Knead more by hand.

You want general principles that apply to all breads and I'm afraid
you're in for disappointment if you look for that expecting not to have
to make it differently for different types.

Read more, like I told you, about bread. You're guessing a lot and
bakery recipes aren't so forgiving. You'll be astonished that all of a
sudden, after a bit of reading, it'll all click into place. You'll "get
it." But first, you need to ride the shoulders of some giants. Check out
those books I mentioned in my earlier post - libraries are good for that.

Pastorio