Friday, September 2, 2011

Forced to Bake in the Heat

 I'm not sure if I'm just becoming more intolerant of the heat, but for some reason, this summer has felt like a real scorcher!(I understand that the word "hot" is a relative term. I don't want to hear any comments from my Phoenix, AZ family. You live in an inferno that makes everywhere else feel like Antarctica.)

One of my daily indulgences is usually grinding wheat and making a loaf of fresh bread every morning. But this summer, heating up the kitchen is the last thing on my mind! Consequently, we've gone a few weeks without fresh bread. My kids have been whining about having to eat store-bought bread, so I finally broke down and made some.
This time, I didn't make my usual daily loaf.  Instead, I made a giant batch of dough so I could mass produce it and bake it all at once, thus only heating the house up for a mere 35 minutes.  I decided to bag it, and freeze most of it.  Then I'll just thaw it out one loaf at a time as we need it.

When the weather cools down, I'll go back to my regular routine.  For now, I'm all about efficiency.

 Here's my dilemma. I love my Kitchen-Aid mixer, but it only has the capacity to knead enough dough for two loaves of bread at a time. When I make a large batch of bread, I have to mix the dough in a giant bowl. Then I either have to hand- knead it (time consuming) or knead 1/2 of the dough at a time with the mixer.

This is the part where YOU, my dear readers, come into play:

I've been considering  the purchase of a Bosch mixer for quite some time now because my understanding is that they can mix large batches of bread dough very efficiently.  Is this true? Does anyone  have experience with a Bosch, and/or any other type of mixer? Are you satisfied with the results? I would appreciate any insight you can give to me.



(Mmmmmm, I can almost smell the bread from this picture.)


Thanks for the info,

Nell

8 comments:

  1. Hi Lynell,

    I saw a comparison chart and the Bosch don't really seem to outshine kitchenaid that much... plus kitchenaid are more esthetically pleasing. Here is what you should go for:http://probake.com/bakery/mixers.php third one down.

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  2. Hi there! I found your site from a Joyful Chaos, and have really enjoyed your posts--thanks for sharing your life with us! You have a beautiful family.

    I have had a Bosch mixer for 18 years. We use it for making 5 loaves of bread at one time (with our fresh ground grain, as you do). I have had friends who burned out their Kitchenaid mixer motors by trying to make too much bread in them.

    The Bosch is so easy to use: mix the ingredients for 2 min., machine knead for 8 min., then shape into loaves in pans, rise for 30 min., bake for 30 min. It really only takes about 15 min. of my time to grind the wheat, get the ingredients together, and clean-up. I love my Bosch!

    That said, but to me, my Bosch is too big for smaller jobs (such as a regular sized cake recipe). So I also have a smaller mixer (which I wish was a Kitchenaid!).

    Personally, I think you'd find a lot of uses for the powerful Bosch motor. Mine also has a great blender that I use quite a bit, too.

    Best wishes in your decision making!

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  3. Now I want to bake bread again, ugh. I say ugh only because of the heat. I do like to bake bread, but don't do it much in the summertime, especially when it's this hot! But I might have to pretty soon. :)

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  4. Have you shared your bread recipe? I would like to try it.

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  5. We bought a Bosch after I burned out two Kitchenaid mixers. The first was brand-new when I got it as a wedding gift; it lasted four years. Then, my mother-in-law gave me an old one; it lasted three months. At that point we bought a Bosch, and I can mix 6 loaves of 100% WW bread in it, as opposed to 2 in the Kitchenaid, and I've been using it for nearly 8 years. We have had to replace the main gear assembly in the bottom of it once, and the part that drives the blender. Both those parts are plastic, which is a major design flaw if you ask me, but overall I have been very happy with my Bosch--so much so that I brought it halfway around the world and bought a transformer so we can use it with 220 v electric.

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  6. I agree about the bosch. I love mine! I mix 4 loaves in mine as that's what I can bake at one time. For buns and rolls I mix recipes with 12 - 14 cups of flour in them. The blender is also awesome and you can get other attachments for them as well, meat grinder, etc.

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  7. I have been to Bosch demo... it looked great. I have several bread baking friends and they all have a Bosch. I may join their ranks... if I ever get serious about making bread. Seems like it would be easier... I always run to town for milk and bread. But I will still have to run to town for milk.... cause Ken say no to a milk cow :)
    Mikie

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  8. Thanks so much for all of your helpful comments! I think that a Bosch is definitely going to be on my wish list this year!

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