I swore by my stand mixer for years, but this Tuesday I had to hand-knead a double batch of sourdough in my tiny apartment kitchen.

My mixer's belt snapped right as I was starting the autolyse, so I had no choice but to do it all by hand for the first time since culinary school, and honestly, feeling the dough change under my palms completely changed how I judge gluten development now. Has anyone else gone back to hand mixing after years of machines and been surprised?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_young13d ago

Honestly thought machines were better, but hand-kneading that dough totally changed my mind.

kaid5923h ago

Feel the dough change under your hands, you know exactly when it's ready. Machines just can't tell you that. It's a totally different texture when you do it yourself, way more alive.

evan_wilson1812d ago

Wait, a double batch by hand in a tiny kitchen? That's wild, @fiona_young might be onto something.