How to Choose Dough Mixers

If you love the smell of freshly baked bread but you hate kneading dough, you may be thinking of adding one of the many dough mixers on the market to your kitchen appliance collection. Do not be too hasty in your choice however as making dough is a tough task for a mixer and not all of them will be suitable. Here are the things to think about when considering which mixer to choose.

1. The Power of the Motor

Whereas most hand mixers and cheap stand mixers will have no trouble at all mixing cakes, bread dough is a completely different proposition. The difference is in the proportion of dry ingredients to wet ones which is much higher with dough than cake mixture. The mixture is simply heavier to move and has more resistance and therefore needs a powerful motor to deal with it. If you try and make bread with a mixer which is not powerful enough, the motor will simply burn out and you will be left with no mixer at all. So that is the first criteria when choosing a dough mixer - a powerful motor, as powerful as you can afford.

2. The Weight of the Mixer

For the same reason, you need your mixer to be heavy and preferably made of metal. If your mixer is too light it will tend to move when it is forcing its way through the mixture and will not stay firmly in one place on your kitchen work surface.

3. The Capacity of the Machine

Think about the capacity of each machine too. If you are just going to make a small loaf or a pizza crust every now and again you can get away with a smaller machine than if you want to cook regularly for a family. If you cook a lot, you may want to look at a professional level machine.

4. Additional Attachments

Most of the machines for home use are not simply dough mixers, they also carry out a number of kitchen jobs. At the very least your mixer should have attachments for cake making and whipping cream but you will also find some machines on the market with many optional attachments and these are worth paying a bit more for if you are keen cook, so that you have the ability to extend your machine at a later date even if you do not need the attachments at the moment.

For more information about dough mixers see topkitchenappliances.com where you will find details and reviews on the best mixers available for home use - the ones capable of mixing dough without burning out - as well as details of other kitchen appliances.