Dough hook
The dough hook is the stand-mixer attachment for stiff doughs: yeasted doughs, bread, pizza and pasta. Its spiral or C shape makes the dough fold onto itself, imitating hand kneading.
Unlike the paddle and the whisk, the hook does not introduce air — it develops gluten: the dough is stretched and folded, and the protein strands align into a network. Readiness is checked with the windowpane test, stretching a piece between the fingers until it goes translucent without tearing.
Work at low to medium speed. High speed heats the dough through friction and pushes it out of its temperature range — which, for yeasted dough, changes the whole fermentation schedule.
The hook has limits: it spins through high-hydration dough without catching it, and simply smears very small quantities around the base. In both cases hand work or folds do better.