Do bakeries generally knead dough for bread by hand or use a machine?
Question is in the title - if anyone has experience working in a bakery that would be great. Thanks!
Best Answer
Most small bakeries use small rotary mixers (like a Kenwood that stands as high as a man) that handle batches up to about 100lb - using a dough hook for bread.
The really big bakeries use trough mixers with blades that turn along the length of the trough. A typical batch is around 600lb.
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Is it better to knead bread by hand or machine?
In the end, the kneading (or no-kneading) method you choose is a personal preference. And of course, you can mix and match the methods, letting a machine (or time) do most of the work, then finishing kneading by hand. Each method yields slightly different results \u2013 which is \u201cbest\u201d is entirely up to you.Is it better to under kneaded or over knead bread dough?
While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.Do you have to knead dough by hand?
Aside from being a meditative, stress-relieving activity, there are a multitude of benefits to kneading your bread dough by hand rather than using a stand mixer or other machines. For example, you'll notice improved texture in your final product due to better gluten formation that occurs while hand kneading.Breadmaking Basics 3: How to Knead and Mix Bread Dough - The Bread Kitchen
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Answer 2
Given the high volume required for commercial bread making, I doubt any except the small mom and pop shops still knead dough by hand. From what I've seen (35 or so years ago...) visiting a small town bakery shop serving a few thousand people, they had a machine to do the work even then, a large steel vat in which all the ingredients are dumped and mixed using a metal arm and a motor.
They still made special doughs by hand (cookies, cakes, etc.), but the stuff for normal breads was made mechanically.
Answer 3
I asked a friend baker to help him for a night, so I could improve my home bread. They use machines to knead the bread as they prepare a lot of dough (25-30 kg of flour at a time).
The machines I've seen have two speeds (speed I and speed II) and you can set the timer for both (my friend puts 5 minutes on I then 20 minutes on II) so the mixer switches automatically from one to the other.
The white bread is kneaded using a rotatory mixer, while for whole grain he uses a machine with two "hands" that knead the dough from bottom-up (the same is used for brioches and croissants).
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