Whole wheat dough

[sandgaw]

I am posting my question in the hope that some of the gurus on this forum have already faced and solved this problem.

Does anyone know of a really good food processor that can make whole wheat dough ? Rotis are preferred at almost every meal at our home. In the last 4 years, I have had two food processors die on me. I almost exclusively used them for kneading the dough to make rotis.

The first one was a Softel Food Processor from India. I used it for 1 year ( had to use it with the ugly, bulky transformer ), after which it breathed its last. After reading rave reviews about KitchenAid in almost every American cookbook, I bought the KFP 650. I thought that my quest for the ultimate dough maker had come to an end. Alas ! a month ago, the flour simply 'goes for a spin' in the processor -- never transforms into the ball of dough :( Yesterday, I got it back from the repair store, but it's still as useless as it was when I left it there.

Both the machines had plastic blades for kneading the dough. I don't believe in metal blades -- my very first purchase in the US was a Cuisinart which I returned promptly after seeing how badly it fared at making the dough with a metal blade.

I can't eat store-bought rotis, somehow, they always have a strange smell ... and for health reasons, I'd rather not eat rotis made of all purpose flour (which KitchenAid seems to be a champion at kneading).

I've heard that European food processors really excel at doing this heavy duty stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions for my predicament ? Kneading the dough with bare hands takes a LOT of effort .

Thanks !

[Peppertrail]

I use cusinart food processor for kneading whole wheat dough. It has a metal blade and does a great job. In fact I still use the cusineart I first bought in 1978.

Ammini

[jw46]

Does anyone know of a really good food processor that can make whole wheat dough ? Rotis are preferred at almost every meal at our home. In the last 4 years, I have had two food processors die on me. I almost exclusively used them for kneadin

Might I suggest a Kitchenaid Mixer...NOT a food processor for kneading your dough....

Ours is a faithful mechanical companion in our kitchen...The dough hook that is included with the mixer will happily knead your dough till it releases from the bowl, no matter what it's texture...

We have many of the additional attachments that use the power take off at the front of the machine...The motor is powerful, and can make light work of any task.

Yes it will be expensive, but it will last you the rest of your life...

[Edward]

Does anyone know of a really good food processor that can make whole wheat dough ? Rotis are preferred at almost every meal at our home. In the last 4 years, I have had two food processors die on me. I almost exclusively used them for kneadin

Might I suggest a Kitchenaid Mixer...NOT a food processor for kneading your dough....

Ours is a faithful mechanical companion in our kitchen...The dough hook that is included with the mixer will happily knead your dough till it releases from the bowl, no matter what it's texture...

We have many of the additional attachments that use the power take off at the front of the machine...The motor is powerful, and can make light work of any task.

Yes it will be expensive, but it will last you the rest of your life...

jw46,

Have you used your Kitchen Aid mixer for making chapati dough? I have never tried this. I usually do it by hand or use the food processor, which takes less than 1 minute. The reason I ask is because when I make dough for chapati or paratha I am usually using no more than 2 cups of flour at a time. Also, with western- style doughs you keep adding flour to get the right consistency, but with Indian doughs you are usually adding water to get the texture you want. I would worry that it would have trouble mixing in the additional water.

Edward

[sandgaw]

Have you used your Kitchen Aid mixer for making chapati dough? I have never tried this. I usually do it by hand or use the food processor, which takes less than 1 minute. The reason I ask is because when I make dough for chapati or paratha I am usually using no more than 2 cups of flour at a time. Also, with western- style doughs you keep adding flour to get the right consistency, but with Indian doughs you are usually adding water to get the texture you want. I would worry that it would have trouble mixing in the additional water.

Edward

I have used both the Kitchen aid food processor (KFP) and mixer to make the dough for rotis. The FP can handle only 2 cups of flour at a time, but it does take less than a minute as Edward said. I feel that it wasn't meant to handle 2 cups though, and I suspect that my throwing 2 cups at it day after day is what has rendered it useless.

The mixer takes a long time compared to the FP (1-2 mins) to knead the same amount, but it seems to handle 2 cups really well. I usually put the flour and most of the water together, and then pour in the remaining water (~50 ml) as the dough starts forming into a ball. Recently when I needed to knead 4 cups, I felt that it did an even better job. I am happy with the mixer so far, but I wouldn't know because it is less than an year old. I have read on the web that KA mixers also die in a few years if you try to make whole wheat dough in them :(

[scott123]

Also, with western- style doughs you keep adding flour to get the right consistency, but with Indian doughs you are usually adding water to get the texture you want.

May I ask why this is? The final level of moisture in the dough is all that matters, is it not? It shouldn't matter if the dough is slackened or tightened to get to where it should be, as long as it ends up in the right state.

I can see how adding water to a tight dough might be a cleaner process when doing it by hand, but tight doughs and food processors/mixers are not a good match.

Ammini, how much water do you add after the initial processing? I'm guessing that you've made this dough enough times to have a good idea how much water it needs right off the bat. Because you are starting off with the right amount of water, the dough isn't too tight and the machine is not as stressed.

[Peppertrail]

I can see how adding water to a tight dough might be a cleaner process when doing it by hand, but tight doughs and food processors/mixers are not a good match.

I have added water to a tight dough to soften it in my food processor. When I notice that the dough is tight, I immediately start adding water and it has always worked and the food processor has tolerated this very well. It still works!

Ammini, how much water do you add after the initial processing? I'm guessing that you've made this dough enough times to have a good idea how much water it needs right off the bat. Because you are starting off with the right amount of water, the dough isn't too tight and the machine is not as stressed.

I usually process one and one quarter cup of wheat flour for dough. To this I add one half cup of water and salt. If I am making the dough for poori I also add a teaspoon of oil. This dough does not require any additional dusting of flour to roll out. I generally use golden temple brand wheat flour. When using other brands of flour, sometimes I have to adjust the amount of water.

Ammini

[scott123]

Ammini, am I correct in assuming that the 1 1/4 C. wheat flour is combined with the 1/2 C. of water right off the bat? That, because you've done it so many times, you put in the right amount of water with the flour rather than performing a water adjustment?

Although I think a food processor can handle the occasional tight dough/water adjustment, I don't think it's something that it could handle day after day, year after year.

[Peppertrail]

Ammini, am I correct in assuming that the 1 1/4 C. wheat flour is combined with the 1/2 C. of water right off the bat? That, because you've done it so many times, you put in the right amount of water with the flour rather than performing a water adjustment?

Scott 123, Yes I am adding the right amount water now after several trials and errors. Initially I used put the wheat flour and salt (and oil, if I am using oil) in the food processor, start the machine, and then pour water in a thin stram until the dough has the right consistency.

Although I think a food processor can handle the occasional tight dough/water adjustment, I don't think it's something that it could handle day after day, year after year.

I agreee. I use the processor to make dough only occassionally. But I use it to make thick batters for some south Indian dishes regularly.

[jw46]

I am happy with the mixer so far, but I wouldn't know because it is less than an year old. I have read on the web that KA mixers also die in a few years if you try to make whole wheat dough in them :(

We have had ours for over 5 years...Use it for kneading dough, grinding meat, grains for flour, rolling out dough for pasta, slicing and shredding almost everything that can be with it...And it's still going strong...

Needless to say we have a small fortune invested in all the attachments for it..

Our friends call us "The Gadget Guys"...Hmmm, I wonder why?

The only downside to it is that is kinda bulky and heavy...Our kitchen has very limited counter space, so it must be stored in a cabinet and wrestled out when we need to use it...

[Modern Day Hermit]

I've been using a Kitchen Aid Mixer for a variety of doughs for a couple of years without any ill effects. I have the larger model, Pro 6, I believe.

I've made doughs for not only flat breads, but multiple loaves of dense, heavy bread as well.

When using the KA mixer, it is important not to go over the '2' marker on the speed selector.