On Wed, 16 Jun 2004, 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.

This is not a stupid question. However, a better question is WHY would I
need to mix something by hand?

Depends on the recipe. In most cases using a stand mixer will be fine. In
some cases the stand mixer will over mix the ingredients. The act of
mixing for some ingredients actually changes them.

For example, some doughs can be overworked by a stand mixer. Also, things
like chiffon or angel food cake require you to fold whipped egg whites
into the batter. If you attempted to do with this a stand mixer you would
lose all the air in the egg whites and have a dense cake.

Basically, if the techniques in a recipe make all the difference then you
want to hand mix when it says to hand mix. A good recipe will explain why
you need to prepare it a certain way.

If you are going to start off with the basics then using a stand mixer
should be fine. After a while you'll start realizing certain terms have
significance. For example, if the instructions say to 'fold' the
ingredients together then you don't want to use the stand mixer.

Good luck and have fun.

P.S. if something doesn't work out ask WHY here. There are some really
bright people here who have helped me tremendously.

P.P.S. remember that it is not only the ingredients you use but the
techniques you use that make a difference. Baking is often in the details.

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
Don't send e-mail to