An accessory called the Dough Divider is available for the Bosch Universal Mixer. It supposedly enhances the mixing and/or kneading of small batches of bread dough.
At Pleasant Hill Grain we've found the Dough Divider to be completely pointless because the Universal Mixer does a great job with either large or small batches of dough, and when using the Dough Divider we see no difference in the mixing or kneading action. And that also goes for the finished product (the baked bread)... no difference. However, Bosch does make the thing and we've had some inquiries about what it is and how it's used, so we've provided this info for background in case you encounter a recipe you think this accessory may have some value for.
Image #1 above shows the Dough Divider itself. Image #2 shows the center column of the Bosch Universal mixer without any attachments. The metal piece protruding from the top is the mixer's drive shaft. Image #3 shows the Dough Divider in place over the center drive column of the bowl. (It simply drops in place over the column.) Image #4 shows another accessory called the Dough Glide, which is a small, flat, "fish shaped" plastic washer that snaps down over the drive shaft, past the little stainless steel cross-pin which you can see in the photo. Whenever the Dough Divider is used, the Dough Glide should be used because if it isn't, the bottom tip of the column-scraper (the vertical flat part) of the dough hook will hit the fins of the Dough Divider and damage them. (Note that when the mixer runs, the bowl and the Dough Divider will remain motionless while the dough hook and the Dough Glide rotate.) Image #5 shows the whole assembly ready to operate.
Bosch Universal "Classic" Mixer page |