I assume you’re referring to KA models. But if you search online you will find numerous bowl lift mixer owners who couldn’t get the bowl high enough to pass the dime test no matter how they adjusted the screw (which is @CCE’s issue).
1 Like
The problem is getting the ingredients into that sticky stage you mention. In my mixer and I assume Diana’s, the hook just kind of slings around through roughly the top third or so of the ingredients, never getting deep enough to mix them. My fix for this is to jam a silicone spatula all around the bottom (dodging the running hook) to fold the flour from the bottom up toward the top of the mass. After I do this for a couple of minutes the flour gets incorporated, a mass forms, and from there on the hook kneads the dough fine. But if I don’t mess with it, it will never come together. And yes, I’ve bent a couple of wire handled spatulas. 
To Diana’s point about first hand mixing, then kneading in the mixer, I have to do this with Chain Baker’s biga pizza dough recipe.
His biga is 50% hydrated so very stiff, then the yeast/salt/oil/remaining water go in at the end after fermentation. Of course as one sees from the video, he just hand kneads his, but I tried it in my KA mixer and couldn’t get it incorporated even with my spatula trick mentioned above. So I mush it together by hand then toss into the mixer for kneading.
1 Like
Ah, yeah, sometimes you need to help it along.
This. If you read my previous answers, we’ve solved the problem: the bowl clearance is well above the famous 1/16th inch or 1.6mm dime test.
1 Like
I gotta say, I’m really shocked at the fiddling and problems I read about KA. I thought that with KA stand mixers, you added ingredients and it did the rest. I never see celebrity chefs having these issues.
That would be funny, wouldn’t it? To see a show about a celebrity baker who runs into real world problems with his/her KA mixer? Right on the air.
2 Likes
does make you wonder . . . the KA brand name has been through several ‘owners’ since the ‘original Hobart’ design - and as so often, “quality” takes a hit as new ownership attempts to cash in on the brand.
another mystery rabbit hole is the bowls. KA made “custom models” for places like shopping clubs (i.e. cheaper$) and the bowls/attachments are not “standard” - not at all obvious to the ‘naked eye’ - but the bowls are not the same shape/depth/profile.
one needs to take care when buying accessories to be sure that it works with your model&bowl.
my KSM5PSWW, bought just pre-2000, does not have the same height adjusting screw as shown in that video. dunno if it’s earlier or later than shown - but it passes the dime test - nicks it on every rotation. raising the bowl puts the top snug up against the frame.
using the std C-dough hook, I always had to scrape down the bowl at the outset to get things fully incorporated. but I did stop the mixer before inserting . . . so there is that . . .
using the spiral - in goes the dry, start low, in goes the wet, just give it a little time and the dough comes together and wipes the whole bowl clean. pizza dough, WhiteBreadPlus, ‘artisan’ recipes . . .
a side note: for looser batters I bought an aftermarket paddle with scraper blades… it’s plastic. one use and it started clacking clacking clacking - I thought the mixer was busted . . .
the plastic cannot handle the torque of even cake batters - the mounting hole stretches / deforms and allows a lot of clacking slop in operation. if you want one, buy a metal frame…
1 Like
I hope an extra 1/16" on your next mixer hook solves all your problems. Until then, manually combine your ingredients to the ‘shaggy’ state and scrape down your bowl and utensil as needed during mixing.
1 Like
While it is disappointing to hear stories about ineffective bowl height adjustment on bowl lift models, I have a tilt-head and this has never been an issue. While I do have to scrape down the bowl for things like batters and creaming sugar, I can minimize it using a paddle that has a rubber scraper on one side (similar to what @HappyOnion mentions, but mine is metal just like the standard paddle). I have not really seen an issue with doughs as they come together and pull away from the bowl onto the dough hook. The kneading isn’t perfect and I usually finish by hand for a few minutes.
While KA is not the quality it once was since being acquired by Whirlpool (paint finish, bowl metalwork, etc.), I chose to go with them as the device is decidedly analog. You can calibrate the speed using a screwdriver, replace the motor brushes using a dime, and of course adjust the beater height.
The designs have been age tested, and have not really changed in decades. Parts are available at dozens of outlets, and there are a plethora of YouTube videos with step by step instructions for doing any adjustment or repair. Heck… I wished everything I owned was this accessible.
1 Like
I might suggest to HB when I write my letter that a simple fix to this is to create a different bowl. If the bottom were a few mms higher that would solve the problem.
Today I made gyro meat and before beating it up according to the Serious Eats version (*), I tested my KA SM.
Dime = fail.
Dime+quarter = fail.
Two quarters hot glued together (and pressed to avoid thickness other than the quarters) = movement about 1/8th of the beater, so barely pass.
(*) Follow Kenji’s method, but seriously consider other recipes for the herbs, spices. I like a lot of rosemary, thyme, cumin, other in my gyro meat.
That’s really too bad – a KA. What a bummer.
I got motivated to try out my theory - mix first, dough hook later.
Did a very basic 30% rye loaf. As we all know rye even at 30% turns into modeling clay and is a real challenge to dough hooks. Hydration about 72% but I’m not exact about these things because there was a tiny bit of barley malt syrup, plus wet hands, etc. Anyway I did the mix by hand then use the dough hook method and the result wasn’t bad.
When I put the dough into the bowl at first the dough hook did nothing. I looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back the dough hook was doing its thing, and pretty soon the dough had wrapped around the hook and was doing nothing, which is the signal for starting over, which I did. I think I did about 3 minutes of actual kneading.
Then this happened, which I think is interesting. I left off adding 1 TBSP of fermented rye malt that I had bloomed in some hot water w/caraway seeds to the end. I did so because I’ve read that adding caraway seeds cuts the gluten strands, which are hard enough to develop in a rye loaf even at 30% Whether that’s true or not I don’t know, but it enabled me to track the progress of the mixing.
Fermented rye malt (“solod”) is very dark. So I could actually see in real time what was happening. It was like an impromptu science experiment. Don’t you love when that happens?
And it did mix. But only because I added it from above. You have to know your machine’s weak points & go from there. Mix first, knead later. And don’t discount doing some hand kneading or S&Fing after!
In other words, the world of the celebrity baker is a fantasy.
Loaf is doing its final proof.
here’s a KA spiral hook doing rye - it appears the liquids were in first, flour(s) on top . . .
(watching the clock, methinks they added more flour too soon - my experience says in another 2-3 minutes the dough would have come together without the extra . . . )
That’s pretty darn good, but I would never have the guts to push ingredients in while the unit is mixing. Plus you shouldn’t have to. I agree they probably didn’t have to.
Impressive! - except it is pretty noisy. Maybe in person it isn’t so bad.
PS I’ve been reading up about C-shape and spiral dough hooks, how they differ, and why the latter shouldn’t be used in KA artisan models. You can but at your own risk - the motor simply isn’t built to withstand the stress. I won’t bore you with the details, you’re all probably ahead of me on this.
So, at the end of the day, even if the C-hook passes the dime test, you’re going to have to work around its limitations. I don’t mind this but it’s good to know beforehand and not one of the reviews I read in supposedly reputable outfits (NY Times anyone?) mentions this.
I bought the hook and used it today. It’s so much better. The C hook will be retired. So glad you mentioned this.
happy to share.
wonder what down-cycled use there is for C-hooks . . . not exactly suitable for boat anchors . . .
As long as your mixer’s motor is compatible, go for it! (Mine isn’t. 
)
