I have misplaced the dough hook attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, and I'm debating what type of dough hook attachment to purchase to replace it, and specifically if there are performance tradeoffs between the two common types. I usually knead by hand but I lean on the mixer for higher-hydration dough or just when I'm feeling lazy.
I'm aware of two dough-hook types for home mixers:
- "C"-shape hook (seems most common; also called as "J" shape) — example from Amazon;
- spiral-shaped "hook" (also called as "pigtail") — example from Amazon.
Is there an objective advantage of one style over the other? I assume there is some difference in performance.
My experience: The latter (spiral-shaped) dough attachment is what originally came with my "professional" (in name only) KitchenAid model. I find that it really only seems to perform well for medium-hydration dough (lower and higher don't work as well), and for a medium amount of dough (too much or too little doesn't seem to work as well). Perhaps I'm just having too-high hopes for this attachment in the first place, or I'm missing something else.
Some examples that would be most helpful to me: Does the spiral version simply work better in all cases if it's compatible with the machine and bowl? Is there any benefit to the C shape? Are there reasons to have both types? Does one work better with lower/higher hydration or more/less dough?
Other research: I haven't found anything satisfying…
I see just a couple questions on SA about dough hooks, but they're really about how to prevent dough walking up and wrapping, like this one and this one. Sounds like the C-shape tends to hold onto the dough too much (dough wraps and climbs) and that the two styles put different wear on the mixers.
A bunch of other sites have some comment about this, but I only found a few that have helpful tidbits:
- A thread on KAF forums suggests spiral develops gluten better and may be easier on the machine;
- A thread on Chow has roughly the same conclusions;
- A thread on The Fresh Loaf suggests that the spiral hook might not work in all bowl shapes, and might put upward strain on the mixer gears both of which could be bad.
Best Answer
The C, J or spade hook is a dismal excuse, having an older "professional" (as you say, in name only) 5-quart Kitchen-Aid mixer that came with one. Per comment above one evidently cannot just swap to the spiral hook on that era of mixer due to the bearings being different. The C hook works against the sides of the bowl, while the spiral works against the bottom, so it pushes up on the shaft.
Of course, I'm comparing against the way that a 30 quart real commercial unit works, with its spiral hook. I wanted a mixer for my kitchen that worked just the same, but smaller, and it's not...
So while you may find the faux-commercial spiral disappointing, you may not have plumbed the depths of the well of disappointment; unless you really want to go there, stick with the spiral, bad as it may be, it's probably better than the C.