On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 04:57:27 GMT
"Cadie" > wrote:

> Any particular reason why I shoudn't use my stand mixer when it calls
> for hand mixing?
>
> Most of my recipes say "stir/mix" with spoon until
> blended/creamy/whatever else. I have a 16 month old little boy who
> loves to run around the house, so being able to use the stand mixer
> and cut down the time it takes me to bake (I'm a horrible hand mixer,
> no arm strength, I guess) would help out a lot.
>
> Yeah, yeah, probably a stupid question, but I'm new to cooking from a
> cookbook... I'm trying to stray away from the expensive boxed mixes
> now and do things from scratch, and I got a stand mixer as a gift.


It's not a stupid question.

Cakes, cookies, you're generally ok. Keep in mind that you can't
throw hard butter into a mixer any more than you can mix it by hand.
(Just sayin, many whisks and paddles are damaged this way - just because
it worked once doesn't mean it won't break your mixer later)

Biscuits, scones, other quickbreads where gluten formation is
supposed to be limited, stay as far away from the stand mixer as you
can, preferably facing at least 90 degrees away from it. Well, you can
sift together dry ingredients this way, and maybe even add your
shortening, but as soon as you start hydrating you need to switch to
hand mixing. Otherwise your quickbreads will be a bit like racketballs
in their texture.

Pretty much the same rule with pie crusts, for example.