Stand Mixer Guide (2024)

Of all the kitchen countertop appliances, a stand mixer is one of the most adored, especially by cooks who love to bake. If you spend a lot of time making bread, cookies, or desserts, it may be worth investing in a tool that can speed up prep time.

The rumors are true!

Not only can a stand mixer deliver professional results, but it can also do so in less time and with less mess. Recipes can be created more efficiently than slaving away in the kitchen with a bowl and a hand whisk. There’s no better investment than a kitchen stand mixer if you love to cook.

The electric power of a mixer generates more air bubbles into batters and doughs, giving baked goods a higher quality texture. Some mixers are extraordinarily versatile, allowing for various attachments that work overtime to slice vegetables, grind meat, make pasta, and even make ice cream!

Stand mixer vs. hand mixer

Besides the fact that you have to hold one while using it, motor size and price are the most significant differences between a stand mixer and a handheld mixer. While a handheld electric mixer is a helpful appliance for smaller jobs like mousse or pudding, it requires you to be present, holding it while it runs. A stand mixer allows you some freedom of movement in the kitchen.

A hand mixer is more compact and fits better for small kitchens and tight budgets. A stand mixer is a more significant investment for the home kitchen. It takes up more room and is heavier, but it has the power to easily tackle heavy-duty batter, bread doughs, and baking projects. Typically it’ll provide quicker results with less mess.

What are the best mixer attachments?

• Paddle: Otherwise known as a flat beater. This excellent multi-purpose tool should be used for heavier mixtures such as cake batter, frostings, cookies, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf.
• Wire whip: Like a handheld whisk, the wire whip has stainless steel wires attached to a hub. The whisking motion of the whip incorporates air into eggs, egg whites, whipping cream, candies, angel food cake, and mayonnaise. Not to be used with dough and heavier mixtures.
• Dough hook: The dough hook can resemble a big “C” or a spiral and is used for kneading yeast doughs like white bread, coffee cakes, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, and even pasta.
• Scraper: A beater with a flexible rubber or silicone fitting on one or both edges that scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as it turns. The silicone edge on the blade can do what your rubber spatula does, so you don’t have to stop the mixer mid-way through and do it yourself. Perfect for sticky foods like cream cheese and nut butter.

Multi-function

Another great feature of a standing mixer is a built-in port, or power hub, for attachments. Buying a mixer with the potential for adding attachments is a wise investment, especially if you’re an ambitious home cook and like your appliances to be super-functional.

Attachments can be pricey, but they can often do the work of a food processor. Some extensions include a pasta roller, juicer, root slicer, shredder, vegetable spiralizer, food grinder, sausage stuffer, grain mill, strainer, and ice cream maker. (KitchenAid is the only mixer with an ice cream maker attachment.)

Stand mixer size

If you are cooking for a large family, making a lot of bread, or entertaining frequently, you might do better to select a larger capacity mixer with a powerful motor—at least a 6-quart bowl. If you’re staying small, 4.5-quart size is ideal.

Depending on the brand, some mixers require higher wattage to operate but don’t make your decision based on that. A higher wattage doesn’t always mean a more powerful motor.

To tilt or not to tilt?

Some mixers come with a locking, tilted head that rocks back for easy bowl placement, while others stay in place and use a lifting mechanism that raises the bowl with a lever. If you’ve got lower kitchen cabinets and are short on clearance, you may want a bowl-lift mixer that has less range of motion.

Speed settings

Most models will feature 3 to 12-speed settings, but all good stand mixers should have a “slow start” setting for adding ingredients to the mixture without a big mess. Most bakers can make do with 3-speed settings, but the more options there are, the more accurate your work will be.

• Slow speed: starting the machine or combining dry ingredients.
• Speed 2 (low): slow mixing heavy batter or cutting in butter.
• Speed 4 (medium-low): mixing cookie dough or beating egg whites.
• Speed 6 (medium): creaming butter and beating frostings.
• Speed 8 (medium-high): fast beating or whipping to make meringues and whipped cream.
• Speed 10 (high): fast whipping a small number of egg whites or cream.

What are the top brands?

• Hamilton Beach: A solid choice for budget-conscious cooks without the durability of the more expensive models that feature all-metal construction.
• Sunbeam: A lighter-duty brand that isn’t as useful for bread dough but very popular for everyday cookie dough and meringues.
• Cuisinart: Known for its food processors, Cuisinart is a good choice for both hand and stand mixers with two different sizes available.
• KitchenAid: Sets the standard for mixers, and the models in their Artisan series top the lists of best mixers year after year. Their heavy-duty, all-metal construction ensures decades of use without fail.

How to minimize a mess

Some machines have a splash guard with a pouring shield that can help prevent a catastrophe if you accidentally shift speeds while mixing. It’ll keep the liquid inside the bowl as you add it. You can also drape a clean kitchen towel over the head of the mixer to cut down on splatter from ingredients.

How to incorporate ingredients, especially for baked goods

Generally speaking, when mixing baked goods, you should add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. As most recipes instruct, adding the flour in stages allows the fat to coat the flour, keeping gluten from developing and ensuring a light and fluffy baked good with a tender crumb.

While the order of adding ingredients isn’t crucial for something like pancake batter, it does improve the texture of scones, muffins, and cakes.

When to chill the bowl?

If you want to make whipping cream, chill the bowl and the wire whip for at least 15 minutes before making it. The cream will whip much faster with a chilled bowl.

Stand mixer uses

• Cookies: You’ll be happy to have a good mixer for holiday chocolate chip cookies and cookie exchanges. Make your version of a Tollhouse cookie using ginger spice in the dough and dipping the balls in powdered sugar before baking.
• Cakes: If you ever wondered how hard it would be to make your wedding cake, a good stand mixer is what most people buy to do it themselves. From layer cakes to tortes, it’s easier with a mixer.
• Meringue: Leftover egg whites from another kitchen endeavor can be turned into a pavlova for dessert, made of baked sweetened meringue, or a dreamy angel food cake.
• Frosting: Make colorful sugar cookie frosting using powdered sugar, butter, and cocoa powder.
• Whipped cream: Stand mixers make uniform and perfect whipped cream in mere moments, so watch your mixer closely.
• Bread and rolls: Yeast doughs are easy for a heavy-duty stand mixer. Make Hawaiian rolls at Thanksgiving, an easy sheet pan focaccia, or try your hand at a seeded rye bread.
• Aquafaba: The liquid left behind from canned cooked chickpeas makes an excellent egg white substitute when whipped into semi-soft peaks. Hard to believe, but true!

Maintenance

For the best results, always ensure that the bottom of the attachment touches the mixing bowl. This may require some adjustment, depending on your machine. Also, periodically check your mixer for loose screws, tightening as necessary.

Vibrations in the machine can loosen them over time. Inspect the bottom of the mixing bowls for undue wear and tear that would prevent them from locking into the base. They may need replacement when they fit loosely or rattle when attached to the base.

Cleaning

Most high-speed kitchen mixers come equipped with a stainless steel mixing bowl, but some brands are revisiting glass, copper, or porcelain in their latest versions. All are fine choices, but some may require more care than stainless steel. Most mixer parts, including the bowl, can be washed safely in a dishwasher or by hand.

After every use, go over the stand mixer with a damp cloth to clean any spatter on the undersides of the machine. Make sure your mixer, mixing bowl, and attachments are all free of dust and dirt before starting a new project.

Popular on Amazon

Here are a few of the most popular stand mixer manufacturers on Amazon.com

• KitchenAid
• Hamilton Beach
• Sunbeam

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