How do I build up gluten with the machine?
Hello, I've owned the Ankarsrum for 8 months and I'm very satisfied. I've recently started an education to become a baker and we've learned about the importance of gluten, and I've had a hard time achieving a good gluten development in my doughs. I mainly use the dough hook and make big batches. Do you have any tips for how I can improve gluten development?
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Chose the correct flour, high protein flour makes the gluten stronger.
When mixing the dough, make sure to add all your flour at the beginning. Adding more flour during kneading leads to the gluten being unevenly developed.
Let the machine knead until the dough passes the window pane test, meaning that with a well developed dough, you should be able to stretch the dough enough to see through it, without the dough tearing.
I see that I've been a bit unclear in my response above.
Our recommendation is to mix liquids first as you say, then adding flour in increments until all flour is added. From there on you can increase mixing speed and let the mixer knead the dough. You don't want to add more flour after a couple of minutes of kneading as the dough will contain underdeveloped and/or overdeveloped gluten, making the bread rise unevenly.
I have been using the mixer for several months, unfortunately I find it impossible to obtain a decent window pane test.
I use a very high protein content flour, and have tried everything from 70% to 80% hydration with the roller and the dough hook. I test the dough throughout the process, but it seems to go from underdeveloped to over mixed without gaining sufficient strength. It was slightly better with the hook, but I had to hold the scraper against the side the whole time which defeats the object of using a mixer.
I'm not sure what else to try other than being stuck with a very expressive whisking machine.
For how long do you knead the dough? For a dough with that hydration, you should only need at a very maximum ten minutes.
Also, if possible, try another flour. Some flours are more suited to be mixed in a mixer than others.
Have a nice day!
Loris
Hi Loris!
Building up gluten in high-hydration doughs can be tricky. Here are a few tips that might help
Flour Choice: Use high-protein flour, as it helps strengthen gluten.
Mixing: Make sure to add all the flour at the beginning. Adding flour later can lead to uneven gluten development.
Experiment with adjustment of roller and hook, please watch our master class-videos with these two attachments. For small batches the roller kan work better than the hook. And you must also try different adjustments of the arm. The hook can also be adjust in height. Here is the master class-videos: https://www.ankarsrum.com/support/
These adjustments should help you achieve better development. Feel free to try them out and see how it goes!
Have a great day!