Choosing the best dough mixer

Professional dough mixers are designed to mix all types of dough and other products in a quick and effective manner. These mixers are a crucial part of the kitchen equipment in nearly any restaurant, café, pizzeria, bakery or confectionery. Industrial mixers are used everywhere where dough needs to be mixed.

So which dough mixer is best suited to your needs?

Three types of professional mixers are available:
1. Planetary
2. Spiral
3. Mažalitražės;

They all look fairly similar – a massive stand holds a powerful electric engine with a special gear that ensures the mixing whisk or the spiral spins effectively. Another important detail is the stainless steel bowl that holds the dough. The engine may operate at two or more speeds, while the device may include a timer and other control functions. This ensures the provision of specialist doughs for different products.

A dough bowl of a larger capacity will typically require a more powerful motor. The motor can be powered by a single-phase or a three-phase electrical input. For a more large and powerful motor, a three-phase electrical input is recommended. Such a mixer will then operate efficiently and quickly. For a smaller kitchen, a single-phase electric input is sufficient.

Professional mixers have 10-litre, 20-litre, 30-litre, 40-litre, 50-litre, 60-litre and even larger bowls. The mixers that operate at a smaller capacity will have stable mixing heads, where the removable part is the bowl containing the dough. Larger capacity mixers may have heads that can be raised, allowing the bowl to be easily removed from the holder. This makes the work of the kitchen staff easier, since one person can lift 40-60 litres of dough. A special protective mechanism – a grid or transparent polycarbonate glass – is installed above the bowl. It protects against rising flour and also prevents any accidental insertion of a hand into the bowl during the mixing process.

Table top mixers holds just 7-9 litres. It is made for working with small amounts of dough. These mixers can be used to mix hard or liquid dough variants. It is a versatile device, but its capacity is relatively small.

The most popular manufacturers of professional mixers are GGF, FIMAR, PizzaGroup and Hendi, among others.

Planetary mixers

Planetary mixers are generally designed to mix soft, or even liquid dough, which contains a lot of water. They are called ‘planetary’ owing to the shape of the whisk. It is made of thin stainless steel rods that are bent into a circle. Since the whisk looks a little bit like a planet, the mixer is called ‘planetary’.

Although planetary mixers are specifically designed to mix dough, they can also be used to mix egg whites or to make sauces. They are essential equipment in cafés that make a lot of pancakes or crepes. These mixers are also popular in any confectionary that bakes bagels, cakes, cookies and other types of sweets.

Spiral mixers

Spiral mixers are designed to work with harder dough. These relatively powerful mixers are used for making bread, bagel, pizza and pasta dough.

The operating principle is similar, but a special spiral made of extra-strong stainless steel is mounted on the mixing head. As a result, it is sturdy enough to mix tens of litres of hard bread dough containing very little water.

The spiral mixer is a familiar sight in every pizzeria, where the dough is sometimes mixed in an open kitchen space to demonstrate the pizza-making process to customers.

Table top mixers

Table top mixers can easily be placed on a table, while the capacity of their mixing bowls is 7-9 litres. Of course, this is why they are called small capacity mixers.

Nonetheless, they are universal devices as either a planetary mixing whisk or a dough spiral can be mounted on the mixing head. Other accessories can also be used to make the chef’s work quick and efficient. In a professional kitchens, small capacity mixers will typically be used to make sauces and pancake batter, or to mix egg whites. These devices are often ideal for the kitchens of smaller restaurants, bakeries and confectioneries.

Which type of dough mixer suits your requirements?

It depends on your production volume and demand. If you are buying equipment for a small restaurant, a small capacity mixer might be the best choice. Operators of pizzerias and bakeries will usually choose a spiral mixer, because they need to make a lot of dough. It is important to determine the types and amounts of dough that need to be made every day. Some kitchens require both types of mixers. If you would like to book a professional consultation to determine which model best suits your needs, please contact our specialists.