Crafting Culinary Wonders: When to Use a Stand Mixer and When to Use Your Hands

While stand mixers have their place in the kitchen, sometimes your hands are the best piece of equipment! The hard part is to determine when you should use an electric mixer, and when it's best to rely on your hands.

Depending on what you're making, your production schedule, and your personal pastry style, each method has its own advantages. Follow these tips in below to make the right choice next time you combine ingredients.

When to Use the Stand Mixer

Stand mixers are powerful, versatile and efficient tools. However you have to admit that the best tools are only useful if you know how to use them properly. That's why students in any professional baking and pastry program use stand mixers to practice making everything from sauces to buttercream frosting to bagels.

When you use a stand mixer properly, you'll find this tool allows you to mix ingredients evenly. It also allows you to multitask more efficiently - as all good pastry chefs know, proper time management is key to a smooth running kitchen. While the machine brings the ingredients together, you can focus on other tasks. Additionally, many stand mixers have handy features like timers or auto-stops.

You can prepare a variety of mixtures by using the supplied bowls and accessories such as the flat beater, wire whip and dough hook. However, it is important to choose the right accessories for each task.

Use the Flat Beater Attachment as a Wooden Spoon Replacement

The flat beater attachment, also known as a paddle, acts like a wooden spoon. However, you don't have to worry about hand and arm fatigue when you use this tool!

If you work in pastry art, you may find that the versatile flat beater attachment quickly becomes your favorite tool. It's great for whipping butter until fluffy, mixing lump-less cake batter, and adding dry ingredients when making cookie dough.

Use the Wire Whip Attachment for Thin Mixtures

Similar to a hand-held wire whip, it is designed to whisk air into a thin mixture. While it won't stand up to heavy doughs and batters, it's the perfect tool for whipping egg whites and cream into stiff peaks.

If you're making a lot of mayonnaise, meringue or marshmallows, the stand mixer and wire whip attachment frees up your hands so you can spend your precious time on other tasks.

Use the Dough Hook Attachment for Thick Doughs

Whether your goal is to make a rich brioche, whole-wheat bread or a batch of pasta, it's all about kneading a thick dough. While sticky doughs can easily stick to the flat beater attachment and even cause the mixer to overheat, the dough hooks are specifically designed to withstand these sturdy doughs.

When to Use Your Hands

Electric stand mixers, food processors, and mixers have huge advantages in food preparation, especially when you need to make large quantities, whip air into thick doughs and batters, or get the job done quickly. However, mixing or folding ingredients by hand can give you more precision and control.

Mixing by hand can get your hands dirty, but you can also turn to simple tools like a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. When making cake batter, the flexible spatula is great for folding dry ingredients into wet ones, while the wooden spoon can handle thicker cookies, scones, and cookie dough.

Your hands may also be ideal for kneading and folding dough. If you don't have a stand mixer, skip the low-power hand mixer and use your hands. By continually folding the dough, you'll help form the gluten that creates that much-loved chewy texture.

Choosing between a stand mixer and hands involves considering the nature of the recipe, the quantity, and the desired outcome. Whether you're entrusting your culinary creation to the efficiency of a stand mixer or the artisanal touch of your hands, the kitchen remains a canvas for your culinary artistry.

If you have any queries about stand mixers or need guidance on which method suits your culinary venture, drop us a comment below or reach out to us directly at Support@Kitchenin.com. We're ALWAYS here to assist you on your culinary journey.