Which Countertop Commercial Mixer is the Best?

[momspizza]

I have a Pro KA that as many know, has a plastic casing and the gears get stripped rather easily.  My dh has repaired the machine numerous times since I began pumping out the pizza dough over the past year.   Between bread, pasta, pizza dough, the poor machine can't keep up with the demand for just my family alone.  I desire to purchase a commercial mixer and was considering the KA 7 qt Commercial as it has a metal casing, unlike all of the other KA now on the market are plastic.  The plastic casing wears out and the so do the gears.  I wanted to stay with the KA so I could use all of my KA attachments.  Considered a Hobart N50, until I watched a youtube review which said making even small batches of pizza dough in the machine a couple of times a week would burn up the motor.  The guy recommended a 20 lt spiral mixer instead.  So I got to thinking that we're going to be repairing my KA, I can keep it, run my attachments with it, make my angle food cake in it and will look for a commercial spiral mixer instead.  So here I am.  I'm doing this only for my family and we love my pizza!!  I have a son, who is single, that I cook for and make up fresh frozen meals.  I will make up to 17 individual frozen pizzas every couple of weeks.  Up to 5 batches of pizza dough.  I use a Authentic Vera Pizza Napoletana Dough Recipe but use a pastry flour...here in Mexico, different flours are very hard to find but it turns out amazing, even when I mix some whole wheat into the batch.  Those of you who can recommend a their small countertop spiral mixers or a fork mixer, I'm all eyes for reading about it.  

[momspizza]

I found this list from a previous thread, is there any order to which one is the best??

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12453.0.html

[Bill/SFNM]

Bienvenida, Lori.

You will be hard-pressed to get a consensus about which is "best" since there are so many factors around each person's unique requirements. I own several mixing devices and also make a wide range of different breads. My current position is that hand-kneading using the stretch-and-fold method is as good, if not better, than using an electric mixer. Especially for Neapolitan-style crusts, very little kneading is necessary to develop the proper amount of gluten. With the exception of very stiff, brioche-style doughs, I no longer use a mixer.

Today I made up a batch of stiff bagel dough using high-gluten flour - no kneading, just a few folds, and it came out perfectly. Every year around this time I bake up a big batch of pan de muerto, which uses a brioche-like dough. I bet I could do a small batch by hand, but will probably haul out the fork mixer just because of the large amount of dough.

At any rate, I am answering a different question than the one you asked, but my advice would be to try the manual, stretch-and-fold method before you invest in a commercial mixer. When it comes to gluten development for Neapolitan dough, less is more.
    

[momspizza]

ahhh, what a wonderful clue!  I did hand mix my most recent dough and yep, it came out great!  I also make brioche for cinnamon rolls...I think what I need, after reading some of these threads and researching the internet, is a multi purpose dough mixer, heavy on the pizza dough.  Our climate is spring like year round, so a machine that heats the dough while mixing probably wouldn't be the best for our area.  I was happy with my KA Pro HD until I started breaking the gears.  I want something that's going to hold up to the stress of kneading dough.  Flour types will be limited to semolina flour, low gluten flours, having to add wheat gluten & a multi purpose white flour.  Hydration % is still a new topic for me but will probably gravitate to understand that soon.   Looking at what I normally make are you saying that going "Carolyn Ingalls" homestead style may be best?  I do occasionally make bagels as well.  

It's too bad that there are such few reviews for the KA commercial 7 qt. model.  If someone could tell me that it would hold up for me, I'd get that one, but after reviewing the Hobart N50, it scared me off.  I know they aren't even the same model or made by the same company anymore but if a Hobart is considered the best of it's line and a couple of small batches of pizza dough a week will burn up the motor, what kind of damage am I going to do to a KA?   I don't know that I would never venture off and try to make another style pizza dough.  It's just what has worked for me since I started.  

After reading further this evening, I think a spiral may be what I'd like but I'm so unsure of which brand to take a look at.  Also wondering if there is a brand sold here in Mexico that is reliable?

also came across this blog with a list of spiral mixers on the market, i'll put the link here so I don't lose it:
http://www.foodtechcompare.com/Food-Processing-Equipment/371-Spiral-Mixer/

Starting to have another uh huh moment....the odds of finding a spiral mixer 7-10 qt in the US or Mexico probably isn't going to happen?  Or I'm limited to the Avancini brand?  That pretty much narrows down the options. haha 

[scott r]

I love my countertop spiral mixer.  The really nice thing about a spiral mixer is how great it is with a very wide range of dough hydrations, and the mixing action produces a better product than a planetary mixer like a hobart/kitchen aid.    There are very few smaller spiral mixers available, and I cant think of any that are made in the USA.    If you want one thats definitely going to last, go with a european one rather than a chinese one.    A forum member Jconk007 is bringing in some really top quality smaller mixers from italy with excellent prices, so you should contact him if you decide to look into going that route.   His email is  doughlicious@hotmail.com

[JConk007]

Thanks Scottr!
Yes I have 5l and  8l single phase for USA  available
These are made in Italy by Mecnosud I don't have power for computer to attach the link  but will get it to you ASAP I will also give you the names of 2 forum members who have purchased them 1 a 5 and 1 an 8
Once they are gone it while be some time before (if)they become available again. shoot me an email doughlicious@hotmail.com and I will hook you up and save you a bunch.  These are great mixers And will probably out last you and I
Thanks
John

[momspizza]

Is there any non commercial mixer that mixes 4 pounds of pizza dough well, without breaking it over time?  If I used my current KA PRO HD kneading on a speed 2, would it keep it from breaking?  Anyone try that?  I can knead by hand but I have a swollen wrist and am wondering if my machine could at least knead a batch or two on a the kneading 2 speed w/out stripping the gears? 

[scott r]

I have mixed and 11lb batch of dough in my Bosch universal plus.  I found that with a batch that size I could not fit all the ingredients in the mixer if they were all put in at the same time.   To get around this I put in all the ingredients that could fit and had to leave out some of the flour.   I turned the machine on for a few seconds which compacted the ingredients.  After that initial short mix there was enough room to fit the remaining flour in there.  

I have found that for hydrations above 63% the electrolux dlx mixer is probably better, while 63% and lower hydrations seem to come out better in the bosch universal plus.   This number can go up or down for each mixer slightly depending on flour type and other factors, but in general, if you like a very wet dough you should look into the dlx, and if you are doing medium to low hydrations the bosch is your best bet.

I hope you can save your money and avoid a new mixer, but both of these mixers are much less expensive than a countertop commercial mixer and will have no problem with 4lbs + of dough.  Both of these mixers will outlast a kitchen aid many times over.