WATCH: Tips For Using A Stand Mixer
If you're looking to buy a kitchen appliance to be a better and more efficient baker, you can't go wrong with a stand mixer. A stand mixer is your leveled-up baking best friend!Â
To understand how a stand mixer can make your baking easier, faster, and overall better, you need to know what you're getting. Most stand mixers come with three basic attachments, so if you are a new baker and want to invest in a stand mixer, here are the tips you need to use any of them with ease:Â
1 Easily mix ingredients.Â
The beater is the attachment you will probably be using the most. It is the attachment you need to easily mix ingredients together. You can use this attachment to also cream ingredients such as butter and sugar until the mixture has become light in color and fluffy in texture.Â
2 Mix big batches with less effort.Â
If you have ever tried to double or even triple a cake recipe so you can bake for a party, you know how difficult it can be to mix those ingredients well. A high-volume cake recipe would easily fill up the bowl! Plus, some serious elbow grease will be needed to beat these ingredients together until it's well mixed!Â
This is where the stand mixer shines! Big batches are dealt with easily and with little effort in a stand mixer using the beater, so if you have a party to attend where you know your famous cupcakes are going to be the star, the stand mixer can play the supporting role in making those treats faster and easier on you.Â
3 Whip air into egg whites for meringue.
One of the harder tasks when baking is whisking egg whites. This requires longevity because constant whisking is necessary to make sure that the egg whites do not deflate before it's used.Â
Soft peaks? Easily! You can also whip a sticky and stiff marshmallow meringue if you wanted to with little to no effort using the whisk attachment.Â
4Â Make the fluffiest frosting!Â
Just like the beater, you can use this attachment to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy as well. Unlike the beater, this attachment will incorporate even more air than the beater would. This is best for whipped butter mixture such as when you are making frosting for cakes and cupcakes.Â
5 Knead dough longer for chewier, better bread.
This is an important tip since many bakers do not knead the dough long enough. (This is actually also true for batters, too, since some bakers do not mix their batters long enough. This can lead to batters that are lumpy, which can mean the difference between a fluffy cake and a not-as-fluffy cake.)Â
Many bread dough recipes normally call for kneading the dough for at least a good 10 minutes. This is the difference between a sticky dough that's rough in texture and a not-so-sticky dough that is smooth and supple.Â
6 Enjoy hands-free mixing while multitasking. Â
Even if you are reluctant to part with your handy hand whisk or electric hand mixer, this is one good reason to invest in a stand mixer if you love baking: Hands-free mixing of batters and dough, allowing you to multitask.Â
Unlike an electric hand mixer which you have to hold as you mix, a stand mixer allows you to leave the batter mixing, so you can step aside to do other tasks while it mixes. Feel free to be paranoid (it's a good thing for bakers!) and monitor the dough or batter as it mixes. Since it's on a stand, it won't get away from you and you can casually look over at the mixture in the bowl as you measure the next few ingredients for the next part of your recipe. Â
If you love to multitask while baking up a storm, you're going to want to have a hands-free appliance to help you do just that.
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