20 QT - Minimum Flour????

[heliman]

I received the last of the original attachments for my TBird 20 QT mixer today ... and I want to make the first batch of dough tomorrow morning.

What I would like to know is what minimum amount of flour a 20 QT mixer like TBird/Hobart can mix correctly? I am looking at making about 1 Kg of flour's worth of dough - will this be handled correctly?

TIA

Rossco

[Archena]

It's hard to say with you mixing volume and weight measures but I would be very surprised if 20 qt capacity couldn't manage 1 kg. That shouldn't weight anywhere near what 20 qt of similar flour should. Depending on the flour you probably are talking about 2 to 4 qts.

Measure it by volume to make the conversion accurately. A volume measure can't be converted to weight unless you have a measure of what that volume of that specific material weighs. Weigh out your flour and then measure that by volume. In the search bar type "X liters to Y quarts" and Google will do the work for you.

A quart is roughly 1.057 liters - so you have a roughly 18.9 liter capacity - if your 1 kg of flour takes up that much space you probably need a heavier flour!

As for the minimum, look at the depth the paddle reaches into the flour. If the paddle is 1/2 in. in you're good. Less that that will probably be difficult for the mixer to blend correctly. I wouldn't worry about it - you would have to have a lot less flour to have that problem.

[heliman]

Thanks for that great info - very helpful indeed.

Just about to head off to the garage to crank the big beast up for the first time so I will check the paddle depth and make the call from there.

Rossco

[heliman]

Just an update on this one - I have been averaging 1,620 kg (6 x 270 g pizzas) for the last 4 mixes and whilst the dry ingredients seem "lost" in the botton, the end results are excellent and the mixer performs its work admirably. What I have found is necessary is that I need to start with the paddle attachment first as the the hook doesn't seem to be able to grab the flour etc very well. The autolyse stage also helps the flour absorb the water and aids overall mixability.

I can't speak highly enough about the benefits of having a great mixer like this to effortlessly and efficiently mix the dough to the required consistency. My KA has now been relegated to performing menial tasks like producing biga - so at least it is getting some use nowadays!

Rossco

[Archena]

Coolness! Glad it worked out well for you!

[heliman]

Thanks - there is quite a bit to learn with this big machine - but the somehow larger quanities seem more forgiving than smaller amounts. I think I will make bigger quantities every time in future and either keep some leftover dough for biga or pop it in the fridge with lower amounts of yeast to allow for a longer fermentation as use the dough for pizza as needed. I may even try freezing some - but that somehow seems extreme!!

Rossco