The reverse spiral dough hook is by far, the best way to go, that is unless you enjoy stopping the mixer to cut the dough off of the top of the hook, pulling it to the bottom of the bowl, and starting the mixer again, only to repeat as necessary. If you don’t do this, you end up with an inconsistently mixed dough. The problem is worse when the dough size is closer to the maximum capacity of the mixing bowl. By all means, factor in getting a reverse spiral dough hook. The reverse spiral hook is designed to push the dough back down to the bottom of the bowl, so it never climbs up the hook. The only time I ever heard of the dough climbing up on a reverse spiral was when the mixer was running in the wrong direction…Oops!
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
