How to knead the dough by a hand mixer?

Actually, I bought the hand mixer before I bought the bread machine. I used the hand mixer to knead my dough, and it worked so well. However, I had to keep my hand mixer to knead the dough, it means I could do anything when I bake bread. Finally, I bought the bread maker to do its work, and I can do my work while it is working. hehehe. Yay! I am going so far now, hehehe. Back to the hand mixer, please. As I read the reviews from the Amazon, the reviewers said that the hand mixer cannot knead the dough, but they are totally wrong. My hand mixer works very well, and the dough is perfect.

Here is the way that I use my hand mixer to knead the dough.

- Make sure all ingredients (butter, milk, and eggs) at room temperature. Put the sugar into the milk, and stir it well until the sugar is dissolved. Put yeast into the mixture, and stir them well. (I use instant yeast, so I do not need active the yeast, click here to know how to active yeast when you use active dry yeast).

- Weight the flour, and put it into a big mixing bowl. All ingredients are ready.

- From a well (hole) where you will pour the liquid in. (optional).

- Use a spatula to mix them well till all ingredients are combined. 

- Plug in the hand mixer, turn it on and let's knead the dough.

- I choose the lowest level to knead the dough at that time in 1 minute, the dough might be wet at this step, do not put flour in it. Turn off the hand mixer.

-  Then put the butter into the mixing bowl. Continue to knead the dough. I choose level 2 to knead the dough at this step. This step takes 2 minutes. To prevent your hand mixer from burning, every minute turn off the hand mixer for three seconds and then continue to knead the dough.

- Turn off the hand mixer and use the spatula to scrape the butter.

- Continue to knead the dough in 3 minutes. The dough will become more elastic this time, and it is not wet or stick to your hand. Stretching the dough to check, if it tears while you are stretching. It means that you should knead it more. (Window pan method).

- Continue to knead the dough, at level 2 in 2 minutes. Turn off the mixer.

- Stretching the dough, and tadaa!!! you get a window pan now. It is time to raise the dough.

- Shaping the dough into a ball.

- Oiling it, and let it rise. Click here to know when it doubles in size.

- When it doubles in size, punch it, and gently knead it several times.

- Then dividing and shaping your bread.

Done!!!

Note: 

- I do not want my hand mixer work at high speed because my hand mixer can knead my dough at the lowest speed. Besides, the high speed might make your dough become hot, and it is not good for the developing gluten in the dough.

- Pro: it does not take time to knead the dough by the hand mixer.

- Cons: Knead a small amount of the ingredients. My recipe is about 1pound. I tried to knead 2 lbs dough, and it works. However, the hand mixer became so hot, so I do not want my mixer booming hehehe. I use my bread maker instead of the hand mixer when my recipe is more than one pound. 

Hana.