IMPORTANT: Never try to slice soft cheese like mozzarella or hard cheese like Parmesan. You may damage the slicing disc or the food processor itself. You can successfully shred most cheeses except soft ones. The exception is mozzarella, which shreds well if thoroughly chilled. Hard cheeses like Parmesan shred well only at room temperature.
Therefore, only attempt
to slice or shred mozzarella when well chilled, and Parmesan when at
room temperature.
TECHNIQUES FOR KNEADING YEAST DOUGH WITH THE POWERPREP® METAL DOUGH BLADE
The PowerPrep Plus® Food Processor is designed to mix and knead dough in a fraction of the time it takes to do it by hand. You will get perfect results every time if you follow these directions.
NEVER TRY TO PROCESS DOUGH THAT IS TOO STIFF TO KNEAD COMFORTABLY BY HAND.
There are two general types of yeast dough. Typical bread dough is made with a flour mix that contains at least 50% white flour. It is uniformly soft, pliable and slightly sticky when properly kneaded.
It always cleans the inside of the work bowl complete- ly when properly kneaded.
Typical sweet dough contains a higher propor- tion of sugar, butter and/or eggs than typical bread dough. It is rich and sticky and it does not clean the inside of the work bowl.
It requires less kneading after the ingredients are mixed. Although
30 seconds is usually sufficient, 60 to 90 seconds gives better results if the machine does not slow down. Except for kneading, described below, the processing procedures and use of the DOUGH button are the same for both types of dough.
Machine capacity
Recommended maximum amount of flour is 6 cups of
of flour.
Using the right blade
Use the metal dough blade when the recipe calls for more than
Because the metal dough blade does not extend to the outside rim of the work bowl, it cannot pick up all the flour when small amounts are processed.
Measuring the flour
It’s best to weigh it. If you don’t have a scale, or the recipe does not specify weight, measure by the stir, scoop and sweep method. Use a standard, graduated dry measure, not a liquid measuring cup.
With a spoon or fork, stir the flour in its container. Do not measure flour directly out of the bag; it is too packed to get an accurate measure. With the dry measure, scoop up the flour so it overflows. With a spatula or knife, sweep excess flour back into the container so the top of the measure is level.
Do not pack flour into the dry measure.
Proofing the yeast
The expiration date is marked on the packages. To be sure your yeast is active, dissolve it in a small amount of warm liquid (about 1/3 cup [75 ml] for one package of dry yeast). The temperature of liquid used to dissolve and activate yeast must be between 105 and 120F(40C and 48C). Yeast cells are not activated at temperatures lower than this and they die when exposed to temperatures higher than 130F (54C).
If the recipe includes a sweetener like sugar or honey, add a teaspoon with the yeast. If no sweetener is called for, add a pinch, or add a pinch of flour. The yeast won’t foam without it. Let the mixture stand until it foams, up to 10 minutes.
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