I'm not much of a baker, so please forgive my ignorance. I have a mixer with regular beaters and a set of dough hooks. I don't know where the instruction book is so I don't know if it came with any recipes. I've never used the latter, and haven't used the entire mixer in a while, but now that I have more time, I want to try baking bread. I don't have a bread machine and am not getting one, so my question is, what's the purpose of the dough hooks? Do they take the place of some of the kneading, or are they only for certain types of dough? Are they a time saver?
I'm looking to make a whole grain challah bread, in which the dough is divided and rolled into "snakes" which are then braided before the bread is baked. There are plenty of recipes on line, but if you have one you love, I'd be happy to receive it. Mainly, I don't know whether the mixer is going to be a help or a hindrance.
Advice? Many thanks!
The dough hooks take place of the kneading. Make sure when using them that the dough doesn't crawl up the hook and into the mixer. If you have a Kitchen Aid you will be fine with that. I have a Kitchen Aid and it makes making bread simple. Just follow the recipe to a T and you should be just fine.
I used them for the first time this year doing Christmas cookies. They made it so much easier! I didn't really know what they were for since my Kitchenaid isn't really mine and didn't come with instructions. (I didn't steal it, I'm just holding it for a friend out of the country.) But I googled it and found it to be extremely helpful.
Google results for "Using dough hooks to knead bread"
http://www.bing.com/search?q=using+dough+hook+to+knead+br...
I have an Oster Kitchen Center and Iove using my dough hooks. I use them for bread, biscuits, lots of different things. One word of warning though, if the motor starts to smell warm, then turn down the motor. You need to have it lower than you usually think, or I do anyway. I don't have a good recipe for you, sorry, but good luck!
