Hand mixers are not only stepping stones to making flaky, light dough in the comfort of your own kitchen, they’re also easier and less difficult to use than food processors or stand mixers. If you want or need to make your own breads or pasta doughs, they’ll help you do that better than ever before. Plus, they generally come in an attractive shape and design that is great for the home kitchen.
To summarize: Hand mixers essentially allow one person at a time to make homemade baked goods because they’re less complicated and slightly quicker than using larger equipment like food processors or stand mixers. If you’ve got a bread machine, it’s certainly the best choice for making dough. But if you’re after a bit more control over your dough, hand mixers may be right for you.
Mixer Vs. Food Processor For Dough: Which is better?
The food processor has a wider range of uses than your average hand mixer, and it handles heavier jobs like meat grinding or grating easier than most hand mixers do. If your heart is set on making homemade pasta or pizza doughs, then go ahead and give the food processor a try. But most people prefer a food processor for making homemade sausage stuffing, for instance, or for foods needing to be ground finely. An electric stand mixer is best used for most pasta doughs, because it’s easier to use than a hand mixer.
Image credit: Mixer or Food Processor ? by Vincent Tan on Flickr Creative Commons.
Image by Jorgen Vittrup on Flickr Creative Commons.
If you’d still like to opt into using a hand mixer as well as a food processor, they’re reasonably priced in large sizes and can be used interchangeably depending on what you need at the time. But if you’re looking to replace all your equipment and replace it with just one asset, then keep the following advice in mind.
Mixer Vs. Food Processor For Dough: Size Matters
The biggest problem with mixer or food processor for dough? Some models simply aren’t durable enough to handle the rigors of mixing dough. If you make a lot of bread or if you want to make pasta dough at home, you might be better off investing in a stand mixer or looking into getting a strong hand mixer that can do the job right. Hand mixers might be small but they can provide power for heavier duty jobs like grinding meat, making breads, and kneading dough when needed.
If you already own a food processor and would like to add the extra hand mixer to your collection, then consider a more powerful one that can handle heavier duty jobs. You want something that can handle making your dough for breads, for instance, or a heavy duty machine like a Cuisinart stand mixer that’s interchangeable with other attachments. If you’re contemplating purchasing both models, be sure to get one with more motors so you aren’t limited in what you can do in the kitchen.
Lifehacker’s buyers’ guide is here if you’d like to see what they have to say on the matter — or if you’d prefer some other options based on your personal priorities. There’s a lot to consider and while it may be tempting to go into the market blindly, especially if you’re on a budget, the right tools can save you time and work.
Mixer Vs. Food Processor For Dough: Mixing Power
I’m not saying that you need an industrial hand mixer but you do want something with enough power to handle your heavier dough kneading needs. Do some research on the hand mixers you’re considering. Look at reviews online, see what people are saying about their power and durability, and take note of any common problems or strengths about your potential new tool.
A hand mixer is great for most tasks and they’re much more compact than a stand mixer or food processor. But if you want to make larger batches of homemade sausage, or if you want to be able to handle heavier mixtures or doughs in the future, then consider a more powerful tool. Otherwise, a hand mixer will serve you well for the most part.
Mixer Vs. Food Processor For Dough: Which Hand Mixer For Dough Is Best?
If your heart is set on making your own homemade pasta at home (I can’t blame you — it’s wonderful) then get ready for a large initial investment. Not only do you need a stand mixer but you need a pasta attachment for it. Many people are surprised by how pricey these attachments can be, especially when they were trying to save money in their kitchen. Yes, the investment is up front. But if you’re going to make homemade pasta and homemade pizza at home, having the right tools for the job is an investment that’ll pay off in the long run.
Best Hand Mixer For Dough: Cuisinart HM-100 4-Speed Hand Mixer
I’ve used many hand mixers over the years and one of my favorites is this Cuisinart model because it’s so easy to use and clean — plus it offers multiple speeds depending on your needs. The stainless steel shaft is durable and comes with a locking knob to assure the mixer doesn’t turn when you’re not using it.
The blades are covered with a non-slip rubber base for sure grip. About the only thing I don’t like about this model is that you have to be careful about turning it on since it could get hot which could make your hands hot. It has one speed control for dough and lets you choose between 3 speeds for lighter pasta or bread doughs. Two other speeds are for heavier jobs like meat or grating.
Best Hand Mixer For Dough: Sunbeam 5891 4-Speed Hand Mixer
This Sunbeam model with its retro look is perfect for mixing dough and comes with a locking built-in cord to assure it doesn’t switch on when you’re not using it (and making your hands hot). The body is stainless steel and the two beaters are offset so that they don’t touch each other during the mixing process which extends their life! It has a locking handle so you can keep your hands away from the beaters when they’re not in use. There’s a single speed control knob as well as a lock knob. It comes with a dough hook for thicker doughs, too.
Best Hand Mixer For Dough: KitchenAid KHM155PS 4-Speed Portable Stand Mixer
This Kitchen Aid model is lightweight, easy to clean and it has a powerful motor to handle thicker mixtures and the dough hooks are not as prone to sticking. It has a single speed control knob to choose between 3 speeds for lighter pasta or bread applications and it comes with a dough hook for thicker doughs. It also has a non-slip base which makes this mixer more stable than some other models. It’s portable, too, so you can take it with you on your travels if you’re cooking at home in hotel rooms or while camping.
Best Mixer For Dough: KitchenAid KHM2106 3-Speed Hand Mixer
This model is a bit smaller than most stand mixers but it has the same power and durability as the full-size models. It’s lightweight, easy to clean, and it comes with a plastic dough hook for making breads and casseroles. The metal shaft is durable and will last for years, plus the beaters are offset which will extend their life.
Which is better for dough food processor or mixer?
I love to cook and I love to bake. When I take a couple hours and make a double batch of dough to use over the next week, it is always worth it. The ease of preparation, the joy of eating homemade bread, and knowing that there were no harmful chemicals in my bread all make this project so worthwhile.
The problem is that I was never very good at kneading dough. After many broken knuckles from trying to knead large amounts of dough, I decided it was time to invest in a hand mixer instead of using my food processor for everything. I decided on the Cuisinart CM31J 1.5-qt. Mini-Prep for my new mixer and it has been a perfect investment so far.
I have only used this machine for one purpose: to knead dough in, so I cannot speak directly to its other applications. However, reading reviews, watching videos, and looking at what is available on the market has helped me make my choice of which model is best for my needs and budget.
Cuisinart is a well-known brand on you can trust with home cooking and baking tools, so I knew I would be investing in something reliable at a cheap price. I spent a few hours online reading reviews and watching videos on the hand mixer I would buy in order to come to my final decision. That is when I came across the Cuisinart CM31J 1.5-qt. Mini-Prep .
The features of this machine seemed to be perfect for what I needed, so I decided to buy it at that time as my first investment in an up-and-running home kitchen. So far, it has been a wonderful machine at a great price.
Can I use a food processor instead of a dough hook?
Okay, so I have to admit that I bought my hand mixer for two reasons. First of all, the dough hook on this machine is a bit large and bulky for kneading dough; the dough hook on my food processor is much smaller and fits better in my hand. Secondly, I don’t want to use my food processor because it has some powerful features that might not be needed in every household.
For example, it also has a blender attachment! It is great for making smoothies or purees with large chunks of fruit or vegetables, but most of the time I just use this appliance for chopping veggies or making salsa. Some of the other functions on this machine include a food processor, a grinder, and a slicer. I am always afraid that someone will use the wrong blade and have one of these attachments break or get stuck while they are using it.
So far, I have only used my dough hook and it works just fine. I can easily add more flour or water to the mix if needed and then mix the ingredients together into a soft ball in less than five minutes! That is faster and easier than my previous method of kneading the dough by hand.
Is food processor good for kneading dough?
Whether you have a hand mixer, food processor or regular stand mixer, I think you can use it to make bread dough. You just need to make sure that you get one with the right size of beaters so they will fit into the dough hook of your machine. The handle has to be metal so that it doesn’t melt under the heat of your hand while mixing.
Although I use a food processor mostly for chopping and pureeing vegetables and fruits, I do use it on occasion to knead bread dough. My food processor is very fast at this job, which is great because I can take care of other tasks around my house while the bread is proofing in my oven.
Can you use a food processor instead of a stand mixer?
No matter how much flour you use, there is no way you can make a whole loaf of bread by hand. You might be able to make your own little loaf and then freeze it, but the size is limited. If you would like to have the experience of kneading the dough, though, it is possible to do so with a stand mixer or food processor.
Both of these machines will give you a good bang for your buck because they can make a very large amount of dough at one time. A food processor does not have a dough hook and the beaters don’t spin as fast. However, the blades will spin faster than a stand mixer and you do have more power to work with.
Having said that, I have tried kneading bread dough with both a food processor and a stand mixer. I found that the bread dough came out more evenly mixed with the food processor, which is why it has always been my first choice in this area. This machine is also very quiet while it is working whereas my old stand mixer was loud when it was running at high speed.
CONCLUSION:
There are many ways to make bread, but I have found that using a food processor is the easiest and most consistent method. It takes between 5-10 minutes to knead a batch of dough and it only takes 5-10 minutes to proof the dough as well. There are some additional steps needed for kneading by hand, but I think it is still an important part of the process. You can also use a hand mixer if you would like to save some money and energy. This machine is the perfect size for mixing dough in so you will be able to do this task regularly for years to come. I have found that my food processor works best for kneading bread dough because of its smaller size and powerful motor, which helps with the heavy task.
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