The old hand-knead vs my stand mixer after 20 years of dough
I used to knead everything by hand at 5am in my tiny Queens kitchen, took 15 minutes of arm work and you could feel every tiny change in the dough. Now my KitchenAid does it in 8 minutes flat and I just watch the window for the gluten window test, but I swear the bread had more soul back then. Anyone else still hand-knead when they bake for a special occasion, or am I just being a sentimental old fool?
Get what you mean about the soul part. I still pull out the dough by hand when I bake for my kid's birthday or holidays, even though my mixer sits right there on the counter. Something about feeling the dough come together under your palms, that little bit of resistance when it starts to tighten up, you just don't get that standing there watching a hook spin around. The mixer makes good bread, no question, but there's a difference between good bread and bread you put yourself into. Sounds like you already know which one you want for the big days.