Why Do You Need a Stand Mixer (and Three Alternatives)?

When you think about baking, you probably imagine that you’ll need a stand mixer for whatever you’re making. This is sometimes true and sometimes not.

A stand mixer is crucial when it comes to baking, and it makes the process much easier: it swiftly, effectively, and completely combines ingredients.

A stand mixer isn’t necessary for many baking operations, and there are other options. Purchasing a stand mixer, on the other hand, is not a waste of money, particularly if you bake often.

As you read this post, consider if you truly need a stand mixer.

What can a stand mixer do?

Stand mixers can be used for many things:

• Mixing cake batter.
• Whipping egg whites.
• Kneading dough.
• Making frosting.
• Mixing ingredients.

Although stand mixers may do all of the activities listed above, they are not the only method to handle ingredients. All of these chores may be completed using other techniques, which, although effective, are typically slower than a stand mixer and may not provide the intended results.

Benefits of using a stand mixer

• It mixes ingredients in a short amount of time.
• It fully combines the ingredients and provides smooth, airy batters with no lumps or unmixed components.
• It can mix practically anything with the correct attachments: a dough attachment can knead bread, a paddle attachment can mix thinner mixtures, and a whisk attachment can whip up egg whites or other batters.
• It is quicker, more thorough, and gives better outcomes than other ways of mixing batters.

Drawbacks of using a stand mixer

• Most are pricey, costing several hundred dollars or more, however there are some less priced choices.
• They are heavy and hard to move.
• Because of the attachments, it is difficult to reach the contents of the mixer (i.e. to scrape the edges of the bowl to ensure all components are incorporated in).
• They aren’t always powerful enough to handle some sorts of mixing (for example, I’ve been baking bread previously, and when I let the stand mixer knead it, it sometimes can’t manage the volume of dough and I have to pull it out and knead it by hand).

Alternatives to Using a Stand Mixer

Mixing by Hand

Hand mixing is perhaps the simplest technique to bake without a stand mixer. All it takes is time, effort, and baking utensils, which you can learn more about in our piece on hand mixing batter.

Benefits of mixing by hand:

• Easy.
• Requires only simple tools and your effort.
• Does the job.

Drawbacks of mixing by hand:

• It takes time- your hand will never be as quick as a stand mixer, so mixing your ingredients will take a bit longer!
• It takes a lot of work to combine ingredients, particularly if you’re kneading dough for a long period or attempting to whisk egg whites, sugar, and butter to make it fluffy.
• It’s difficult to get the appropriate consistency–for example, if you attempt to combine butter and sugar by hand to make it fluffy, there may be clumps of butter that you can’t entirely smooth out by hand.

Using a Hand Mixer

A hand mixer works similarly to a stand mixer. The main difference is that it is smaller and may not have any functions other than whisking the ingredients (i.e. it will not make dough for you).

To discover more about the similarities and differences between these two alternatives, see our article on hand mixers vs. stand mixers.

Benefits of using a hand mixer:

• It is a machine, thus it will whip objects at a greater pace.
• Easy to use- small and relatively easy to handle.
• It does the job of producing a smooth, light batter with no lumps.
• As it whips air into the batter, it makes any batter more airy.
• Much cheaper than a stand mixer.

Drawbacks of using a hand mixer:

• A hand mixer’s sole job is to stir the contents.
• It may be messy since the whisks might spray batter onto or around you.

A non-electric hand mixer is another alternative not discussed in this article.

Using a Food Processor

If you don’t want to create a mess and want to use just one dish for your baking job, using a food processor (see a few of our faves) or any equipment equipped with a blade, such as a smoothie machine or dicer, is probably the ideal option to employ.

You acquire the required batter quickly by utilizing this procedure.

Benefits of using a food processor:

• There is no mess since all of the ingredients are combined in one dish.
• Its fast.
• It’s easy since all of the components are combined at once.
• It can combine a variety of ingredients, including dough, cake batter, and nuts.

Drawbacks of using a food processor:

• It often just has a blade attachment, which makes kneading dough difficult, however it is possible.
• It doesnt make batter airy.
• They are frequently hefty and costly, costing between $100 and $200.
• You must continually scrape the bowl since ingredients tend to adhere to the sides where the blade cannot reach them.

Purchasing a stand mixer is a worthwhile investment. It swiftly combines ingredients and may make mixtures smoother, lighter, and more blended.

If you don’t want to spend the money buying one, there are other alternatives to mixing that will accomplish the job. I would recommend purchasing a stand mixer, but even without one, you should be able to make great batters!