When I saw a bag of flour at Patsy's years ago, it was no the same as this one. It had the words Hi Gluten printed up the thin side of the bag. The bag was white and not brown.
Trinity, thanks for the info. Just to clarify, the autolyse that pftaylor and I are working with involves mixing the flour, water and yeast for just a minute, then letting it sit for 20 minutes before kneading. Then at the end the dough sits for another 15 minutes before cutting into balls.
I'd imagine that the end resting time is bound to occur even if you don't intend it because you make such large quantities compared to us home bakers that it takes a while just to divide so much dough into measured balls.
Do you add the flour all at once or gradually? One problem that we have with the home machines is that if you add all the flour up front, the dough just sticks to the hook and spins uselessly. By adding the flour gradually the dough gets some work at a wetter stage, even if the end hyrdation is lower. I doubt you have this problem with commercial mixers, but I thought I'd ask.
Pete-zza, I had some success with a food processor using the plastic blade. This made much less heat. I had some success, but now I love the DLX mixer and that's my only tool. I get amazing windowpaning, as I posted recently. The DLX, by the way, produces almost no heat. Very, very little. I'tl take readings next time, but I think I start at room temp (73) and end at like 78. So I don't even have to think about it. On several bread making blogs, the DLX is the only recommended machine. I personally will never go back to the Kitchen Aid or food processor.
Jeff