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Ankarsrum mixer is not as expected
I bought an ankarsrum mixer due to owning a KitchenAid mixer that struggled with 1kg and above, plus they suck with dough anyway. Ankarsrum seems recommended due to it's unique design and way of working, from looking at videos you can see it looks like it kneads the dough well.
I've been kneading dough by hand to pass window pane for pizza and it would take me maybe 15 minutes. I have a form of arthritis and more so my hands get really sore from hand mixing. That's what the ankarsrum can help with right? I guess. but not really.
I mixed a dough tonight for 20 minutes and it still looked like porridge by the end. It practically just combines the ingredients but it would never create a dough that's gonna pass window pane, instead it creates a big bowl of porridge.
After watching a lot of videos and reading a lot online, you will see people say 'youre not using it properly'. 'there is a learning curve'. 'it takes practice' but this is all a lie. No amount of practice will make this machine knead dough as well as a spiral mixer. It will always require additional kneading by hand or by folding. I feel so silly for buying this, I should do a video review condeming this device so nobody else falls into the same trap.
Did I use the roller? Yes. Dough hook? Yes. I tried various methods, I know what I'm doing, it's a mixer not a space ship. The ankarsrum fans will have you believe the user is the problem but provide me with 1 video of dough being kneaded without going above 25C in temp and developing decent gluten structure.
I'm quite annoyed, has anyone else had this experience? Wish I just saved more and went for a Famag.
I’m sorry you’re having issues and I’m certainly not going to say it’s a you problem, but I haven’t had any issues with my Ankarsrum in the 10+ years I’ve had it (and I didn’t think there was a learning curve either) so I don’t know what to tell you. But if you’re that unhappy with it, maybe you can return it.
Do you have the recipe handy to post? It’s summer and I have to reduce the moisture in my pizza dough by about 7% (280 down to 260) and that’s from starting around 70% hydration.
When I make one of my recipes it starts out as a gooey mess until I add enough flour to bring it together. It’s just an example of what I’ve found; some recipes need to be adjusted for the Anker.
Yes, I was very frustrated when I started using my Anker, thought I had a dud, wasted my money etc. But it’s become my favorite item in the kitchen.
Edit: I reduce my pizza dough hydration by 7% not 10%.
I whole-heartedly disagree. I jumped into using my Ank after watching a couple of videos. The first try was a complete fail. The next two tries were better, but not the same as my KA. I worried I had wasted my money. Before I returned it, I watched many videos & read successes/failures from different people. I tried again with the simplest bread recipe I could find. My result was the best loaf of bread I've ever made! Once I got past the learning curve, the Ank proved all the fans were 100% correct. If you're continuing to struggle, it's user error or a bad recipe, not the machine.
I hear ya. But I would love a more solid 'This is what I did to fix my issue' type of response. There are only so many things that you can change and fix when using it. Order of ingredients put into the machine, whether you use roller or hook. What speed you use to spin the bowl. Moving the arm to help incorporate ingredients. What else could I be doing wrong? I feel like I'm experienced enough with the kneading process that I know what should be happening after x amount of time invested in kneading a set dough recipe.
I moved from a KA to the Ank and haven’t had any hydration issues. There are a couple of things I do with every bread or dough recipe. I double the kneading times recommended for a KA and I never go over speed 2. I start with the roller all the way to the right, I don’t usually care about what order I add ingredients, once mixed I move the roller to the appropriate distance so it doesn’t bang around too much. Some movement is okay. I don’t worry about it making a ring or a ball. Whatever happens, happens. I judge it by the feel of the dough and go from there. Usually the recipes just work fine.
That’s about it. I’ve made tons of different types of dough in it and this is what I follow. I’ve made shokupan, focaccia, Swedish rye bread, kamut bread, pizza dough, etc. Most of the King Arthur bread recipes are pretty foolproof and you might want to start with one of those.
Doughs and batters. I sometimes let the mixtures sit for 5 min after it comes together so the flour can hydrate but I don’t generally autolyse. I have experimented with different processes but it’s like handing me an expensive golf club and expecting to improve my golf game. I’m just trying to keep it in the fairway.
I am stumped given you can develop the dough by hand mixing. I would say you aren’t the first person in a short time that has voiced issue with tipo 00 flour. Makes me wonder if the fineness of the mill just isn’t compatible?? I use KA Bread flour for pizza. Sugar, salt, yeast, water, olive oil. It’s pretty standard and, aside from the fineness of milling, what’s the protein content of the 00 you’re using?
So the Ankarsrum is (edit: *not* actually a spiral mixer) and the Kitchenaid is a planetary mixer. I'm curious to know if you've tried different formulas w/ the Ank- there is such a thing as hydrating a dough too much, and bassinage is an option if you want to see how far you can push the hydration.
I mix up to 23 kilos by hand (in my bakery) partly because a mixer is expensive but also because when I have mixed batches in the 30qt planetary mixer I have, the dough has come out weirder and worse than if I'd mixed by hand. I haven't had that experience with the spiral mixers I've used in other bakeries, but the dough I mix by hand is a higher hydration than the dough those bakeries were mixing in the spiral.
When you say hydrating a dough too much do you mean adding all the water too much at the one time? I actually kept some water in reserve in some scenarios, others I used all the water. In scenarios where I reserved the water, I add some incrementally until I reached the desired dough hydration level for the recipe.
If for example I dump 650g water, 1kg flour, salt yeast into a bowl. Then mix it by hand, then give it a quick 5 min kneading session. The dough comes out as expected. If I use the Ank in a similar way, the dough won't come out as expected even with more time. There are a bunch of secret tips online to uncover to develop gluten with the Ank. I'm gonna try another dough today and see if I can crack it. I want to love the ank!
I seriously considered buying an Ankarsrum but came to the same conclusion you did before making a purchase. Instead, I paid more for a Sunmix 10, but very happy I did. Best mixer for bread I've ever used. It's amazing how quickly it produces gluten and reaches window pane.
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