Choosing The Right Commercial Mixer For Your Bakery

By Tracy Ashley @stella_jea

Commercial mixing systems are probably the most versatile as well as useful pieces of equipment in a bakery. With a plethora of attachments and innovative features ranging from removable bowls to belt and gear transmission, mixers are the vital assets for any baking firm. But due to the availability of so many different variants, choosing the right one from among them can seem like an overwhelming and exhaustive task. In order to avoid unnecessary hassles of the selection process, one needs to make certain considerations and keep them in mind while shopping for the product.

Given below are some factors that can be helpful when buying commercial bakery mixing systems. Have a look:

Considering What Needs to Be Mixed

Different kinds of batter and dough have varied consistencies, therefore every mixer is not right for every task. For instance, it would require more power to knead a stiff and thick batch of dough than to mix icing or meringue. Similarly, a pizza and bread dough mixer would be much different from something meant to whip egg whites. In order to determine what kind of mixer is needed, it is generally advised to find the absorption ratio for the dough commonly used for baking. The greater the absorption ratio, the less tough it would be to mix. Dough with less absorption ratio will require more powerful units.

Usage Expected

All mixers available in the market are designed for handling the severity of commercial usage. However, some are equipped with better features for tackling difficult tasks more efficiently than others. Based on this fact, a buyer can choose one of the following types:

  • Standard Duty Types – They are ideal for light food items such as cake batter, whipped cream, soft bread dough and egg whites.
  • Medium Duty Types – A typical medium duty unit works almost like its standard duty counterpart. But it can also be used for mixing batter and dough, and that too frequently.
  • Heavy Duty Types – These are capable of dealing with applications that involve constant mixing of heavy dough. Some even come with accessory packages.

Taking Into Account The Amount Required To Be Mixed

How much batter or dough will be mixed also plays an important role in determining the size of the mixer which is required. Generally, a commercial bakery needs larger models than a small artisan one, because the former must turn out baked products in higher volumes than the latter.