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How to mix large amounts of sponge for bread?

Seasoned Advice Asked by user52037 on June 24, 2021

I am making large batches of bread with 100% hydration poolish. In the current situation, using a large mixer and then having to clean the bowl after is not an option because of time. Mixing by hand does not effectively eliminate all lumps of flour. A dough whisk is not large enough for the task (think 10 pounds flour and 10 pounds water at a minimum). How do bakeries mix their pre-ferments when they can’t use a machine?

2 Answers

Our local large bakery has mixers that have a tiltable bowl: mix, lift the bowl (with a kind of crane), dump the content out - wherever it's supposed to go. But we are talking about five to ten times the amount you asked about.

For 10kg in total, you don't need a mixer. Roll up your sleeves, wash your hand and give the poolish a good mix with your hands in a large tub. I have kneaded similar amounts of bread dough (60-70% hydration) by hand and know others who have done the same. Your 100% hydration poolish will be even easier to handle. Then scrape off what sticks to your hands and let rest as usual.

Note that a poolish doesn't need dilligent kneading, gluten development happens during the long fermenting phase, not during kneading. So if the poolish is somewhat "shaggy", it's ok.

Answered by Stephie on June 24, 2021

I don't get your comment - Stephie describes doing it by hand.

At 100% hydration, a large, sturdy spoon should also work.

A large immersion blender might also do (no personal experience, I consider them more of a fad than a tool I need.)

Or if you have trouble dealing with effectively mixing 20 pounds of glop at once by hand or spoon, mix 5 4 pound batches and dump them into a bucket after they are mixed (or whatever size batch you find comfortable.) Or do those in quick succession in a small mixer and only clean it at the end.

On the further-out end of specialized tooling and timesaving that's not a mixer, something like a mortar box and hoe (the hoe has large holes in it), made of wood or stainless steel (wood seems more likely - I doubt you'd find one made for mortar that you'd want to use in food, so it would be a custom-job) - or a plastic tub and the "hoe." Of course that actually is a mixer, just one that's hand-powered.

Answered by Ecnerwal on June 24, 2021

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