bake - May/June 2020 - 10

equipment

"Consultation with a
professional is the best
approach for finding
your ideal solution."
Jerry Murphy, vice president - sales, Gemini Bakery Equipment Co.

"It's important to avoid overlooking the available space in the

etary style or spiral style. Planetary mixers use gears to emulate

kitchen, making sure there is plenty of footprint to accommo-

the rotating bowl action of a spiral mixer, whereas spiral mixers

date the mixer that you purchase."

use motors and a pulley system instead of gears.

What you will mix and the expected batch sizes are also key

Planetary mixers offer great versatility for a wide range of

factors in selecting the right size mixer. Some mixers are de-

jobs, such as mixing dough, cakes, whipped toppings, icings and

signed for certain applications. For example, there are mixers

meringues, so it's crucial to pick the right style.

designed speciﬁcally for pizza dough that provide more torque
for heavier dough mixing jobs.

Spiral mixers are well-suited for mixing heavier doughs, and
those from Hobart offer versatility by allowing users to mix less

"Mixer sizes for retail bakeries are usually based on ﬂour ca-

than 10% of the unit's capacity - so you can mix small to very

pacity. Since ﬂour is the main ingredient, most bakers will base

large batches in the same machine. A reverse bowl function

the batches on full bags of ﬂour," says Jerry Murphy, vice presi-

makes the smaller batches possible.

dent - sales for Gemini Bakery Equipment Co. "They will dump

"Some bakers choose planetary mixers for their versatility as

full bags of ﬂour and only weigh the minor ingredients. For that

they typically have interchangeable tools. Planetary mixers are

reason, the most common sizes are 100-lb ﬂour capacity or 200-

good for icings, batter and soft cookie doughs however they are

lb ﬂour capacity.

not the best for dough mixing," says Rick Liberatore, regional

"Batch sizes and mix times for all the products is important to

sales manager at Gemini Bakery Equipment Co. "The gearing in

know in order to determine how many mixers are needed," says

a planetary mixer is not well suited for the resistance a bread or

Murphy. "A professional can review these products and usage re-

roll dough requires for proper gluten development, causing ex-

quirements to help guide you to the best solution for your bakery."

cessive wear on the equipment. In addition, the dough adheres
to the hook and basically rides along with little kneading taking

Capacity

place so gluten development usually takes longer."

impacts productivity, quality and efficiency in the kitchen. Too

Absorption Rate

small of a mixer and the equipment is overworked; too large of a

Manufacturers offer mixer capacity charts that show the amount

mixer and it runs inefficiently with longer mix times.

each mixer is capable of handling for speciﬁc ingredients and

"If you purchase a mixer that is too small for the job you risk

applications.

overtaxing the motor, which can lead to repairs or premature fail-

To determine the right size, it's important to understand the

ure of the equipment," Pettit says. "Also, if the mixer is too small

absorption ratio, because the recommended maximum capacity

and the bowl is too full, the mixer can't thoroughly incorporate all

of the mixer depends on the moisture content of the dough. The

of the ingredients. That is going to negatively affect the consis-

absorption ratio percentage is determined by taking the water

tency of the ﬁnished product."

weight divided by the ﬂour weight.

Choosing a mixer based solely on advertised horsepower is an-

According to Pettit, absorption rate- or the water weight

other mistake, since manufacturers' operating systems are differ-

divided by ﬂour weight - determines the moisture content of

ent. Instead, look for mixers based on a tested ingredient capacity.

the dough or batter and, with it, the recommended maximum

Mixers used in commercial kitchens are typically either plan-

capacity a mixer can handle. It's important for bakers to under-

10 < MAY-JUN 2020 | bakemag.com

GEMINI BAKERY EQUIPMENT COMPANY

Having a mixer with the proper capacity is very important. It
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