“I have been baking sourdough regularly for about six years, using recipes from Michelle Eshkeri’s Modern Sourdough, and ingredients and equipment from Bakerybits. Recently, I felt like trying to learn the art of lamination, with pain au raisin being a particular target.
Whilst my initial results tasted delicious, I did not find the process easy and the finished products looked messy. Researching dough sheeters, I discovered the RS201, and was delighted when Bakerybits started to stock this.
Let me say straightaway that using the RS201 has been a great success. On the positive side, it is easy to use, does exactly what I hoped, makes forming the dough much more controllable, and gives much neater results. The pain au raisin still taste very delicious. The RS201 also packs away really neatly when it is not being used.
There are, however, some things that are not really negatives, but areas of puzzlement for me. The Bakerybits website advises that the maximum amount of dough that can be processed by the RS201 is c.600g. (This reflects the information on the original Japanese web site.). I engaged Darryn in a helpful exchange about this, and he advised that he had been able to roll a greater quantity of dough. My recipe for pain au raisin uses over 1400g of dough, which rolls just fine, though I do not have to roll the dough very thinly. For croissants, I think I might not be able to roll so much before the size of the board was exceeded.
Secondly, I have not yet quite got the right combination of ingredients and temperatures. The butter needs to be pliable, the dough cold and the board well floured, to stop the rolled dough from sticking. Advice varies quite considerably, and I am still working to get this right. Some advice on the Bakerybits website would be useful. My further bakes suggest that having both the dough and the butter at 12degC works ok.
Next, the only board available to me was the SB-01, which is not suitable for cutting dough. If the SB-04 is available, I think I would go for that option. With pain au raisin, I was able to form the dough into a roll, and then transfer it to another board for cutting. For croissants, things might be trickier; the SB-04 allows both rolling and cutting.
Finally, the board takes up quite a bit of space in use. I have been able to find a clear space of c.150cm x 60cm in my kitchen, but think this is probably the minimum for effective use.
In summary, the RS201 is expensive but the only really effective dough sheeter on the market for domestic use. I have enjoyed using it and hope that with more practice I will be able effortlessly to create more delicious bakes.”
“When I first seen a video of this dough sheeter, after researching for manual dough sheeters, I went on a frenzy looking for it, but the costs and hassle to bring it to the Uk from Japan, seemed too great.
I couldn't believe when eventually, on a desperate day (been laminating by band for over a year, and I was getting angry and tired) my boyfriend found this selling here!! And it's legit and it arrived well packed and quick!!
I made dough this morning, to laminate as soon as it comes. It's odd to me, to have to mind the board and the dough. The board only moves with the weight of the dough, and for a couple of times, it nearly fell on the floor! Because it kept going and going hahah
I hope the board is sturdy, because it is sooo lightweight that it is scary! The base itself is heavy and I don't think it will be a problem using it everyday. Seems very well built, I hope it will stay with us for a very long time, fingers crossed.
Tomorrow, I'm baking the croissants! Exciting!”
