We already have a KitchenAid, but have found mixing dough by hand always turned out a better product. After doing annoying stretch and folds all day yesterday… I want to upgrade to a mixer that works with 110v and can handle 75% hydration.
Is an Italian spiral mixer the way to go? Ankarsrum? or something like Bosch?
I’m looking to make everything from Pinsa, Roman thin, to a higher hydration NYC style.
yes. I couldn’t be happier with mine (I do a lot of sourdough, head and shoulders above my Kitchenaid)
following along out of curiosity. but for nyc style pizza, 75% would be way too high. or do you mean more like a rustic loaf?
75% is still possible for NY even though when I was doing years of testing my favorite pizza hydration for NY was 64-66% but I didn’t have a pizza oven then believe it or not… different ovens even at the same hydration produce different amounts of oven spring. I like the softness higher than 70% offers.
interesting. that 65% seems to me as the perfect case for most styles, but i also think 3 days in the fridge matters more than hydration for the end product. i also add a tiny bit of diastatic malt powder which makes a considerable difference.
this is a never-ending pursuit!
I tend to push my NY dough quite far… I like 5 day cold ferment up to 7 days.
Wilfa Probaker Timer from Norway.
this looks amazing.
reddit comment i found for context: “Probaker is a beast and Ankarsrum is nothing in comparison. KA… is merely a cake machine.”
Our German „bread pope“ is a big fan of the machine.
Here is a video (in German!) from someone who made a pizza dough with 5kg flour. Of course the machine makes also Pizza dough based on 500g flour.
Note: it is the old model without timer. The new one with timer has been released for 6 months.
Going to order this today…
I have a Sunmix spiral mixer and it was one of the best kitchen purchases I have ever made. while not cheap, it has brought my dough making to another level. while i still enjoy doing stretch and folds every once in a while, its just so simple to use. but it does have a learning curve as you develop gluten so fast, you have to learn to adjust your mixing times down. yes, they are expensive, but they should last forever and im sure, just like some of my wines, my kids will be enjoying it for long after Im gone.
for pizza, i find that 75% would be to high for me, but for bread, its not an issues, especially for spiral mixers. I have gone as high as 90% and got great results. but clean up is not fun. I think that around 63% is my sweet spot, but I do increase the water up to 66% when I do a 50% white, 35% whole wheat and 15% dark rye pizza dough. great pizza dough it makes.
john
I’ve heard from professional bakers… you can always make dough by hand, but even for a small amount a mixer can get you a better final product (especially for the time invested).
Mixers just develop gluten so much faster.
for Schools Bakeries Restaurants Pizzerias
For sure-but if you have time then time is just as good.
this isn’t true, or rather very incomplete. it’s inherently different and potentially worse, especially with pizza. the reason is that the faster you can develop the desired gluten level, the lower the chance of oxidation. of course, hydration and whether you’re including oil, matters as well. as does the mixer speed itself. the point being, mixers vs hand are not equal.
Incomplete, certainly, it’s a complicated subject and hand and machine are not the same thing at all, but far the biggest variable is the flour, and modern European-milled flours at least tend not to respond well to excessive manipulation, a light touch is what is needed. I have not used US flours, and would not use oil in pizza dough.
I am not sure what you mean by oxidation in this context. It is certainly part of the process. As I understand it excess oxidation is only a risk when machines are used.As a lifelong breadmaker it increasingly seems to me that gentle persuasion rather than violence is most effective. I do usually use a machine but it is convenient rather than necessary.
I’m sure it’s good for your hand strength.
The only real issue with machines is people who mix on too high of a speed.
People who say “by hand” is better are on copium… like saying a whipped cream by hand is better than using a machine.
The biggest issues with machine when it comes to recipes that are not supposed to have lots of air. A good example of this is pesto. Grinding a pesto vs using a blender produces a much different end results or using a blender for a pizza sauce. A blender will crush the seeds making the tomato sauce bitter which hand crushing won’t do.
Machines are tools but don’t forget you are also a tool 
It depends more on the knowledge and experience of the person who’s doing it than on the means, in both cases. It shouldn’t require much effort. I remember an old lady who had been taught to whip cream with a knife edge and a saucer, perfectly effective.
Who eats enough pizza to justify special machinery? it’s only a bit of fun and one can perfectly well do without it if necessary.
I travel for food… like taking the train to New Haven just to eat pizza and not do anything else. After seeing my purchase history of pizzas on GoldBelly I realized even specialty equipment would save my money instantly. Ordering from 4-5 different pizzerias on Goldbelly is easily over $500.
I talk to friends about pizza very regularly with my friends and we discuss recipes, pizzas, ideas. I made several foccacia’s for my work’s holiday party, I’ve hosted parties in my own home where I make pizzas… so for me my smaller mixers / doing things manually isn’t suiting my needs.
Can you slice onions pretty finely with a chef’s knife? Sure, but it’s just faster with a mandolin. If you need to process a lot of veggies? I rather use the slicing attachment on the Cuisinart.
Perhaps this is an issue with food prices now, but a few years ago I didn’t think to myself “I can make that at home.” Now, when I see stir fried noodles for over $20 I’m like wow, I’m definitely going to make that at home.
If you asked any of my friends… I would be the person who eats enough pizza. For my birthday last year… a friend and I went to 4 local pizzerias and at the first location we ordered 4 pizzas…