Shaun, A Food Processor is a great way to knead bread dough.

Here is a Pictorial I did a few years ago demonstrating how to use the Food Processor when working with a wet dough.

For a regular bread dough, just add your flour to the FP Bowl, along with your yeast and salt, add the liquid and pulse to bring it all together. Let is sit for 5 minutes and then pulse again. Just takes about 10 to 15 pulses to knead the dough. 30 to 45 seconds should be sufficient. Of course it will depend on your processor and the amount of flour. Most won't processor more than 4 cups of flour at one time.

When it comes to pastry dough or biscuits and scones the FP can be used to cut the butter/fat into the flour. Just pulse. It doesn't take long.

I know that many also add the liquid to the processor for pastry dough and scones/biscuits, but I don't. I think the texture is much better when the liquid is added and mixed in using a fork.

Thank you Ann!! Going to look at the pictorial now. xoxo

For bread I do it differently than Ann does.
I have a small cuisinart, so it will only dio recipes containing no more than 4 cups of flour.
I put the yeast, flour and salt into the bowl...and sugar and oil or butter if using.
Pulse to mix, then with the motor running, slowly pour the water through the feed tube. and when all the water had ben added, allow the motor to run another 20 to 30 seconds.
Check the consistency....should be just a littles oft...because as the liquid absorbs it will tighten up. If there is not enough water....add a little more with the motor running...if it's too loose...add a very little more flour and run the motor until it's incorporated.
Then dump it out and knead a few strokes by hand...to, as Julia says" reconnect the gluten strands".
Linda C

Ann's pictorial is very helpful, especially for a wet dough.

My doughs don't tend to be wet as Ann's, so if you try making one that isn't, just pulse until the dough comes together into a ball (using the dough blade). For me, that takes 8-15 pulses.

When cutting butter into flour to make a pastry dough, I like to use the steel blade as I think it helps break up the butter. (Sometimes I use frozen butter, left out for just a few minutes.) The dough will usually form a type of ball, which I knead by hand once it's dumped out. (I use a silpat to keep from needing to add too much flour.)

I think the first couple of times you try it, you'll find your sweet spot! Have fun with it.

Thanks Linda and Claire! I'm in the mood to try this; maybe tomorrow. Working today - too many interruptions to get involved in bread making.

I can't remember how many cups my food processor holds..... probably smaller like Linda's.

So Claire, you use the dough blade, not the dough hook? Any particular reason why?

Shaun, my dough blade is plastic, and I use the steel blade because my butter is usually frozen. I find it cuts through the really cold butter more easily, and since I don't want to overwork the dough I'm all about easy!

When I make the butter pastry, I cut my butter into pats, then the pats into four pieces. I do that so the butter is more easily blended into the pastry. If I'm using cold butter, sometimes I stick that into the freezer for a bit. After processing the dough, it goes back in the fridge to stay cold. The dough is removed 15-20 minutes before I'm ready to roll it into shape, so it's more pliable. (I hope this isn't TMI, but sometimes I like specific instructions when I'm trying something for the first time!)

You probably already know to let the dough rest before trying to work it for bread or pizza dough. It rolls much more easily when you do. Like Linda mentioned, giving it a quick knead out of the food processor helps it all come back together.

Once you try it, you may never go back...

You can't do the bread dough in anything put a high quality powerful FP...like Cuisinart, Robocoupe or Kitchen Aid.
A Black and Decker $40 special won't have the power needed.
Linda C

Claire, never too much info! My Food Processor has a dough hook AND a dough blade (plastic)..... which do you suggest? Thank you.

Linda, noted.

I should be in good shape; I have an 11 cup Cuisinart. Just looked at it. Yay!

Shaun, I'm not familiar with a dough hook! My old Cuisinart is my mom's from the early 1980's, so I only use the blades. (It's still going strong, so I've never made the change.) It would be fun to experiment. Maybe you can instruct us how to use more updated equipment once you've had a chance to use it. I suppose my old FP could die on me one of these days...I may need you to give me instruction on a newfangled version with a dough hook!

If you "have no idea how" check some user-friendly resources that give good direction and recipes.

1. Read the user-manual that came with your food processor. Most have a good deal of practical information as well as recipes especially designed for your machine.

2. Check the shelves of your local public library for books, such as:

-Cooking With A Food Procesor (General Electric)
-Better Homes and Gardens Food Processor Cook Book
And many others....

The cookbooks I have are very detailed. Once you learn how to make a recipe in the cookbooks, you can then adapt other recipes.

-Grainlady

Thanks!

Grainlady - good idea and one I didn't think of.

Shaun, my KA Food Processor only has blades and slicing discs, including a plastic one for dough.

My KA Mixer has the dough hook, along with a paddle and whipper.

Ooops hit submit too soon.......

Wanted to say I am never very happy with the dough hook but maybe the one you have in your FP works better than the one I have in my mixer.

Have never seen a dough hook on a food processor....I would think it would run too fast to work...or does your FP have a step down power switch for the motor?

Just went to the Cuisinart site and I see no food processor with a dough hook. Are you sure that what you think it a dough hook isn't the plastic stem that holds the discs?
Linda

I wish it was April 1st - then I could say FOOLED YA!!

I had a brain fart. I was confusing the food processor with my Kitchen Aid Mixer. The Mixer has the dough hook, the Food Processor has the plastic blade for dough.

Oye this menopause is killing me. D'OH! Sorry.........

Thanks to LindaC's & AnnT's recommendations I bought a food processor for making dough and used it successfully for a couple of years before getting a bread machine. I basically did what Linda outlined. Flour, yeast, etc. in the bowl and adding liquid slowly through the feed tube. Once it sort of came together (after about 15 pulses), I'd let it rest for about 10 minutes so the liquid could get fully absorbed. Then I'd finish off with another 15 pulses while checking the texture. If needed, I'd add more flour or liquid. Then plop the dough into a container for rising.

I always used my metal blade and never used recipes with more than 3-1/2 to 4 cups of flour total.

I think the FP is a great help when making a smaller amount of bread. I also use it for cutting in butter for scones & biscuits, but, like AnnT, I add the liquid by hand.

I found a pretty good book in my local library about using a FP to prepare breads. It has good general techniques. Maybe you could find it too. The title is "The best bread ever: great homemade bread using your food processor" by Charles Van Over; Broadway Books, Publication date:1997.

Hey Shambo, thank you so much.