Planetary vs. Spiral Mixers: How to Select the Right One for the Job

Today’s bakers provide a wide variety of freshly made, unprocessed, and delectable pastries to their patrons, ranging from cakes and breads to biscuits, muffins, and pizza crusts. These professionals are aware that having a dependable commercial mixer that produces the best product possible is essential to their business. They could be unaware that selecting the ideal mixer has just as much weight as picking the ideal components for the recipes themselves.

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A baker requires a commercial mixer that is specifically designed to meet his or her demands. After this, he or she will frequently see a noticeable rise in output, an improvement in efficiency, and a decrease in the amount of money needed for upkeep, repairs, and other costs that might eventually turn off clients and hurt their company’s bottom line.

Prior to purchasing a mixer, bakers have to consider the many types of baked goods they intend to produce on a regular basis. Which type of dough or batter—and how thick should it be—is needed for the majority of their recipes? Are they going to bake cookies, muffins, specialized breads, or all three?

The key to selecting the proper mixer and the necessary size is knowing the volume and weight of the components.

“What are the chances that I will eventually decide to use this mixer to prepare something other than dough?” is a question that bakers should ask themselves. Will it ever be used to spreads, sauces, or vegetables? Before making the investment, there are several things to think about. Invest in what you want to become.

The majority of bakers are aware that planetary and spiral mixers are the two most popular varieties of commercial mixers. They might not, however, be completely aware of the variations amongst them, and there are several.

Bakers need to have a solid understanding of the many characteristics that planetary and spiral mixers provide in order to choose the one that will maximize production in their kitchens and companies. When powerful kneading and diversity of usage are sought, a planetary mixer is often the best choice. In contrast, the greatest tool for combining artisan and airier dough is a spiral mixer.

A deeper look at both kinds of mixers is provided here.

Planetary Mixers

When baking a variety of items in large quantities, bakers have a lot of possibilities using planetary mixers. Planetary mixers provide bakers additional alternatives since, in addition to combining cookie components and kneading heavy dough, they can also be used to slice vegetables, cut meat, grate cheese, prepare batter, and whip light meringues (with the right attachment). Because of their adaptability, bakers may venture out and give their clientele options beyond the standard baked items, such bread and cookies.

For best results, planetary mixers require the right agitators and accessories. Common agitators for bowl mixing include whips, beaters, dough hooks, mixing paddles, whisks, and pastry knives. Other popular hub accessories for various planetary mixers include slicers, graters, shredders, and meat choppers; these attachments allow the mixer to do more than just mix.

Every planetary mixer has a non-rotating bowl and a single motor. The versatility of planetary mixers is further enhanced by the fact that their bowl capacity, which vary from five to 140 quarts, are measured based on the volume of ingredients they can contain.

While bigger planetary mixers are floor standing, smaller planetary mixers may be set up on a tabletop. Planetary mixers are a great option for general-purpose kitchens, bakeries, and pizzerias because of this. As of right now, these are the most widely available commercial mixers.

Spiral Mixers

When making an investment in a spiral mixer, space should always be considered because they are typically positioned on the kitchen floor. They are usually most appropriate for bakeries and kitchens that produce a lot of pizza, bagels, and artisan bread.

Because spiral mixers rotate the bowl in both directions, they guarantee correct dough consistency and ingredients that are well-blended. Spiral mixers are usually the best choice when making a consistently high-quality dough is a necessity. In comparison to planetary mixers, they may also generate far smaller quantities.

Because the spiral hook revolves as the mixer bowl rotates to knead the dough, spiral mixers are ideal for making bread because they maintain the dough at a lower temperature. This prevents the dough from overheating or fermenting too rapidly, which might alter the yeast’s activation process. Maintaining a precise temperature is crucial when making artisanal breads, since they require a gradual fermentation process for optimal results.

Two motors are used in spiral mixers: one for rotating the bowl and another for rotating the spiral arm. The pulley arrangement used by the mixers makes them quieter than planetary mixers. After spending a long day in the kitchen, a baker only has to invert the bowl to remove the dough from the hook, which simplifies and expedites the cleaning process of the mixer.

With ease, the majority of spiral mixers combine flour and water to the ideal consistency. This has great significance as a lot of specialized breads require an 80–90% water absorption ratio. Bread with a greater water absorption ratio is more easily digested. Since less flour and more water are needed to make the same amount of dough, it also saves bakers money on bread manufacturing because the dough is lighter and more airy.

Conclusion

When choosing a mixer, bakers should assess their existing kitchen space, mixing requirements, production volume, and any anticipated future growth.

In some circumstances, bakers might wish to think about including spiral mixers and planetary mixers in their inventory of kitchen appliances. Both varieties should be kept on hand by bakeries that make huge quantities of items and are very busy. Furthermore, bakers may choose to employ both a planetary mixer and a spiral mixer in their daily production if they want to attempt supplying new kinds of dishes in addition to specialized breads and baked products.

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