Mixer listings can look confusing: "50kg 130L" or "6kg 30L". The two numbers describe different things.
Kilograms and litres
The litres figure is the size of the bowl. The kilograms figure is the amount of dough the mixer is rated to handle in one batch. Dough is dense and it needs room to move, so a bowl is never filled to the brim: a 20 litre bowl might be rated for 8 kg of dough, and a 130 litre bowl for 50 kg.
Always keep your batch within the kilogram rating. Overloading a mixer strains the motor and makes uneven dough.
Spiral or planetary?
A spiral mixer kneads bread and pizza dough. The bowl turns while a fixed spiral hook works the dough against it, developing gluten quickly without heating it much. PKE spiral mixers run from 5 kg to 50 kg of dough, and larger models offer two speeds or a programmable panel.
A planetary mixer spins its beater around a fixed bowl, so it reaches everything in the bowl. It is the tool for cakes, cream, batters, meringue and lighter doughs, in sizes from 5 litres up to 80 litres. Use a whisk, a flat beater or a dough hook depending on the job.
Many bakeries need both: a spiral mixer for bread and a planetary mixer for pastry and cake.
Match the mixer to your batches
Work backwards from your biggest daily batch. If you make 40 kg of bread dough in a batch, a 50 kg spiral mixer suits you. If you make several small batches, a smaller mixer used more often may fit your workflow better than one large one.
Power and voltage
Small mixers run on 220V single-phase, while larger models need 380V three-phase. Motor ratings in the catalogue range from about 0.3 kW for the smallest table-top mixers to 9 kW for the largest spiral mixers. Check the voltage before you order, and use the load calculator to see what your kitchen's supply must carry.
Safety
Mixers have a guard over the bowl. Never bypass it, and never put a hand in the bowl while it is running.
Next step
Send us your batch sizes and the products you make, and we will suggest a mixer and quote it.
