A question for all bakers out there?

[brickie in oz]

A question for all bakers out there?

Have a look at the video in the link and please tell me your thoughts on this mixer?
Good, bad, expensive?

Spiral Mixers | Dough Mixers | Mecnosud, Moretti, Santos

[TropicalCoasting]

Quite a few big no brand ones on Ebay for a lot less
Im curious too. on what the response is.
Gut tells me big one over powered and under utilised is going to last quite well.
600 Watt is what I have in my Kenwood,I've already killed one kenwood and an Aldi mixer making bread/pizzas.
commercial dough mixer | eBay

[brickie in oz]

I have a Kitchen Aide that is not that old and is dying, so much for getting a so called good brand.

[texassourdough]

The Santos is a revered mixer for pizza dough and for artisanal bread doughs. Very gentle. Very good for developing dough without overworking. The price is WAY higher than I would expect but...everything is probably high in Oz. I can handmix a lot of dough for $2000!

[brickie in oz]

Originally Posted by texassourdough

I can handmix a lot of dough for $2000!

Im having a party maybe in a few weeks, better start making your way over then.....

[brickie in oz]

Its been doing my head in all day about what mixer to buy so Ive just bought a cheap chinese model off epay that has a 10l bowl for $600.

Cant be any worse than the over priced KA KitchenAid®: Welcome to KitchenAid.com
They seem to forget that ppl are willing to pay a premium based on their reputation and instead they build inferior products oversees in China to maximise profits.

[texassourdough]

Hi Al!

In reviewing this I just realized the seller refers to the Santos as a spiral mixer. This is not correct. The Santos pictured is considered a fork mixer. Fork mixers are considered marginally more gentle than spirals (but a bit more temperamental to use - the bowl is not driven and one usually has to hand turn the bowl until the dough begins to form). Spirals that I know of have driven bowls and need less attention but are often harder to clean.

Both forks and spirals tend to want a significant amount of dough to work properly. My hand mix/S&F routine has gotten so ingrained I no longer have much aversion to making any amount of dough. It is all pretty much the same whether it be four pounds or twenty. (Yes the hand mixing of the twenty takes a bit longer but that is only to the coming together/wet stage. Five minute rest and a bit of kneading to even things out and get a bit more organization and then into a tub. S&Fs in a tub are pretty much identical except the tub and dough are larger.) I am pretty much on auto now when it comes to mixing dough. And I tend to find that I can make pretty much any bread the same way.

Bake on!
Jay

[kmrice]

Jay, what are you using for a tub?

Karl

[texassourdough]

I have several that I bought from a local restaurant supply. They are simply food storage tubs with lids. The larger ones I also use to store balled pizza dough. The smallest and the one I use most is a 5.2 liter "Half Size" tub from Carlisle (also says Ace Mart on the bottom which is the restaurant supply - they are all over the nation, I think.) Anyway its lid is a bit over 10 inches wide and about 13 inches long. The actual tub is about 8 1/2 inches by 10 1/2 inches. It holds a 2.5 kilo batch of dough really nicely for doing S&Fs and bulk proofing. I usually do the primary mix (leaven, flour, water, salt, etc.) in a bowl for this is a bit small for that but once roughly mixed and given five minutes or so and a bit of preliminary kneading I simply oil it lightly with canola oil and dump the dough in. Sort of flatten/stretch it to mostly fit the tub and come back a half hour later and do the S&F. Robertson (in Tartine Bakery) recommends using round containers and I find doing S&Fs in those very awkward. I think the tub encourages really nice natural dough development that is almost uniquely wonderful by comparison. (I am confident this part is delusional but after I used tubs at SFBI for a week I came home and used the round tubs and immediately went back to the rectangular ones!

Good news! These tubs are cheap! (by comparison to everything else!)
Jay

[kmrice]

Thanks, Jay.

Did they use round or rectangular at SFBI? I would think a rectangular tub would be ideal for S&F. I've got to get a couple. About how deep is the 8.5x10.5 tub?

Karl