Wednesday
Nov052008
Upgrading the Stand Mixer
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 8:28PM 6 Comments 
There are two new items for the World's Most Popular Stand Mixer In The World*. I'm writing of the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, not some other mixer.The first is the BeaterBlade. Available from Amazon
, this handly little device is just like the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, except that it has some silicone bits around the edges which scrape the sides of the mixer for you. Simple, effective, and a no-thought upgrade. If you know someone with an appropriate model stand mixer, you have your holiday or birthday present for the year.The second, for the bread enthusiasts, is the Spiral Dough Hook. This one is an official KitchenAid attachment that will work for the Professional 5 Plus and the Professional 600 models (sorry, Artisan folk). As seen in the embedded video, the new dough hook actually kneads the dough along the bottom of the bowl, thus picking up the various bits of flour at the bottom. Also, it prevents the dough from slapping the side of the bowl like a one-armed midwife at a birthing competition**, so it keeps the mixer from trying to walk across the counter to its eventual doom.
*–I have no data to back that up. I completely made up the title. It's a pretty popular mixer, though, you'll agree.
**–It sounded okay in my head.
in equipment tagged baking, bread, equipment, kitchenaid, mixer, stand mixer, upgrade
equipment tagged baking, bread, equipment, kitchenaid, mixer, stand mixer, upgrade 
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Reader Comments (6)
BeaterBlade... yes! I'll have to get myself one *before* holiday baking. And while I was momentarily giddy over the idea of the spiral dough hook, I realized that I probably wouldn't use it too often. I get dough started in the mixer but like to smash on it manually afterward. That part makes me almost as happy as tearing into a loaf of goodness warm from the oven.
Good point about the holiday baking. I'll have to fast track my order of the BeaterBlade.
Although I appreciate the idea behind hand-kneading, whenever I've done it the "kneading endorphins" failed to materialize.
BeaterBlade arrived today! Guess where I'm off to now? That's right! For more butter! Holiday treat-making starts NOW! Woohoo! Maybe I should lay off the sugar....
That's great! I expect a full report.
I made two batches of triple gingersnap dough last night. This handy little device effortlessly beat a stiff dough into submission with no problem. I didn't scrape once, and everything was evenly and quickly incorporated, down to the dimple in the bottom of the bowl. I wish I had this thing sooner. Actually, I wish I had thought of it first. I also give it extra bonus points because it's made from a textured clear plastic that the dough didn't want to stick to, and it looks like it was chipped out of the side of a crystal palace...
Excellent! Can't really ask for more than that.