Taking Advantage Of Stand Mixer
May 24, 2020 8:19 AM Subscribe
I'm temporarily staying with my sister, who has a stand mixer. As someone who loves baking I've always wanted one but never had the opportunity to use one. Before I move to my new apartment, I'd love to make some recipes with the stand mixer that really take advantage of it.
I already made cake with it, which was fun, but I'd love a recipe that is hard to do without a stand mixer or where the stand mixer gives you much better results.
I already made cake with it, which was fun, but I'd love a recipe that is hard to do without a stand mixer or where the stand mixer gives you much better results.
Bread, of course. If you have a dough hook,
Cookies. It's so much easier with a stand mixer.
posted by kathrynm at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
Cookies. It's so much easier with a stand mixer.
posted by kathrynm at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
These Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies require 7-8 minutes of beating with a stand mixer.
posted by corey flood at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by corey flood at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Pizza dough is one of my favorite stand mixer uses. This recipe from Lidia Bastianich for "Grandma Style" or "Detroit Style" gets baked in a sheet pan. It's best when allowed to slowly rise overnight in the fridge.
posted by winesong at 8:50 AM on May 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by winesong at 8:50 AM on May 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
This Ciabatta recipe is super high hydration (really wet dough) and comes together in the mixer like magic.
Fresh Loaf: CIabbata
posted by snoboy at 8:52 AM on May 24, 2020
Fresh Loaf: CIabbata
posted by snoboy at 8:52 AM on May 24, 2020
Brioche! I like this brioche recipe originally from Baking with Julia. The dough falls apart when you add the butter but then you just... leave the mixer on and in a few minutes it turns back into dough! And if you don't want to make a traditional loaf or fancy braided brioche it really does make the most amazing sticky buns.
posted by mskyle at 8:55 AM on May 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by mskyle at 8:55 AM on May 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Yeast is hard to find around here, though I'm an avid bread Baker so non-yeasty recipes are appreciated.
posted by Aranquis at 9:00 AM on May 24, 2020
posted by Aranquis at 9:00 AM on May 24, 2020
I don't have a specific mandelbrot recipe to recommend, but it makes excellent use of a stand mixer.
posted by crush at 9:14 AM on May 24, 2020
posted by crush at 9:14 AM on May 24, 2020
Fresh butter, to go on all the bread you should make. You can add garlic or something for savoury and lavender for sweet.
posted by kellyblah at 9:14 AM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by kellyblah at 9:14 AM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Came here to say marshmallows also. Will take up an entire afternoon, too, if that's a bonus for you.
My most-made recipe with my mixer is chocolate chocolate chunk zucchini bread, because liquidy quickbread batters are such a pain to mix by hand. Base recipe is here, but a) skip the nuts if you don't like them b) don't frost it, it needs no frosting and becomes infinitely less portable that way c) add about half a bag (or more! do what you feel!) of dark chocolate chunks (Ghiradelli makes a good one, but whatever you can get; dark chocolate chips will work too but the chunks make a very satisfying texture) to your batter. It's so good, and the contrast of cocoa to chunk is really satisfying. I often have Hershey's Special Dark cocoa on hand, and I use that, but it does change the final product's internal color from "this is a chocolate dessert" to "why...is it this color exactly?" but it smells amazing so you only hesitate for a moment.
I make mine in mini-loaf pans because the minis freeze so well, and it's also my go-to baked gift at the holidays (I shred and freeze pounds and pounds of cheap zucchini in the summer for this purpose).
posted by Lyn Never at 10:01 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
My most-made recipe with my mixer is chocolate chocolate chunk zucchini bread, because liquidy quickbread batters are such a pain to mix by hand. Base recipe is here, but a) skip the nuts if you don't like them b) don't frost it, it needs no frosting and becomes infinitely less portable that way c) add about half a bag (or more! do what you feel!) of dark chocolate chunks (Ghiradelli makes a good one, but whatever you can get; dark chocolate chips will work too but the chunks make a very satisfying texture) to your batter. It's so good, and the contrast of cocoa to chunk is really satisfying. I often have Hershey's Special Dark cocoa on hand, and I use that, but it does change the final product's internal color from "this is a chocolate dessert" to "why...is it this color exactly?" but it smells amazing so you only hesitate for a moment.
I make mine in mini-loaf pans because the minis freeze so well, and it's also my go-to baked gift at the holidays (I shred and freeze pounds and pounds of cheap zucchini in the summer for this purpose).
posted by Lyn Never at 10:01 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hokkaido Milk Bread/Shokupan never lasts more than 2 days in my house. Also, the milk chocolate frosting from the Bravetart cookbook - it's 3 cups of cream and 20 oz. milk chocolate (chips are fine, but it does actually have to be milk chocolate, not dark) - heat the cream, pour it over the chocolate, stir it until it melts, stick it in your fridge for 6 hours, and then whip it in on high in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment for about a minute and a half. It's soooo much better than buttercream, but it's not nearly as fluffy if you try it with a hand mixer.
posted by rjacobs at 10:53 AM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by rjacobs at 10:53 AM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
It only takes the tiniest amount of yeast, you can get 7 decent-sized loaves out of a single packet, so I would still recommend the low-knead bread. Mixing the salt into the flour and the water into the flour takes some real elbow grease but it's a snap in a mixer, plus you can let it do the first rise right in the bowl. I have been making it lately with sourdough starter and it's even better that way, plus does not require commercial yeast.
Homemade whipped cream also goes from a dicey, messy operation to something that is almost set and forget. Chill the bowl and whisk for a few minutes in the freezer. Of course, if you want to make butter the mixer is good at that too.
You can also make pancake and waffle mix ahead of time. Doing it all by weight means very fast measuring and only one dirty dish. I whisk the other ingredients into up to 1kg of flour at a time in my 4.5L bowl. Cheaper and tastier than boxed mix, and way, way easier than doing all that sifting.
posted by wnissen at 10:55 AM on May 24, 2020
Homemade whipped cream also goes from a dicey, messy operation to something that is almost set and forget. Chill the bowl and whisk for a few minutes in the freezer. Of course, if you want to make butter the mixer is good at that too.
You can also make pancake and waffle mix ahead of time. Doing it all by weight means very fast measuring and only one dirty dish. I whisk the other ingredients into up to 1kg of flour at a time in my 4.5L bowl. Cheaper and tastier than boxed mix, and way, way easier than doing all that sifting.
posted by wnissen at 10:55 AM on May 24, 2020
Meringues and pavlovas! Stand mixers are SO much less work for whipping egg whites. At this time of year I'd be tempted to make a rhubarb compote and put it on a pavlova, plus you can use the mixer to whip some whipping cream to put on top. Pies topped with meringue like key lime pie, lemon meringue pie, and chocolate pie would be excellent too.
posted by A Blue Moon at 11:00 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by A Blue Moon at 11:00 AM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Anything that requires creaming butter and sugar, especially recipes that want a very light mixture (will coat a spoon, etc.) or whipping. It also excels at mixing very stiff doughs that would otherwise be very difficult to mix by hand.
posted by citygirl at 11:49 AM on May 24, 2020
posted by citygirl at 11:49 AM on May 24, 2020
Divinity!
Practically impossible without a stand mixer and SO good!
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:37 PM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Practically impossible without a stand mixer and SO good!
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:37 PM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Not really baking, but to echo citygirl's point: making masa for tamales is much easier with a stand mixer. Like, 5 min of active spinning, instead of 30 min of aching arm/shoulder action.
posted by holyrood at 1:05 PM on May 24, 2020
posted by holyrood at 1:05 PM on May 24, 2020
I broke a handmixer to make this Smores pie and it was totally worth it. So that's what you should use your stand mixer for. It's so good. So good.
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:07 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:07 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Meringues!
echoing holyrood's point: Not really baking, but stand mixers are great for making meatballs.
posted by Neekee at 1:16 PM on May 24, 2020
echoing holyrood's point: Not really baking, but stand mixers are great for making meatballs.
posted by Neekee at 1:16 PM on May 24, 2020
Getting a stand mixer has meant I make cookies at least once a week, without getting my hands messy. Any kind of high fat dough, like a brioche, is hard to make without a mixer with a dough hook attachment. I am also a huge fan of Hokkaido milk bread, and Kindred's milk bread.
Meringues or baked Alaska if you are in the mood for retro fun, and chocolate mousse, or any mousse, are much more possible with a mixer. Cakes with buttercream frosting, especially Swiss or Italian buttercream.
Japanese cheesecake. Angel food cake.
posted by unstrungharp at 6:31 PM on May 24, 2020
Meringues or baked Alaska if you are in the mood for retro fun, and chocolate mousse, or any mousse, are much more possible with a mixer. Cakes with buttercream frosting, especially Swiss or Italian buttercream.
Japanese cheesecake. Angel food cake.
posted by unstrungharp at 6:31 PM on May 24, 2020
This cake is amazing, but nigh impossible to make without a stand mixer. It's super moist chocolate cake with french chocolate silk pie filling as frosting. I dont even like chocolate cake that much and this blew my mind.
The frosting requires a LOT of whipping. Very very worth it. Worth it even when I had to use a handheld one time when I was at a friend's house with no stand mixer and they begged me to make this cake for them.
posted by ananci at 9:18 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
The frosting requires a LOT of whipping. Very very worth it. Worth it even when I had to use a handheld one time when I was at a friend's house with no stand mixer and they begged me to make this cake for them.
posted by ananci at 9:18 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Bread, making the lovely recipes you get with the Neil Pottery crock on Etsy.com.
posted by bearwife at 12:14 AM on May 25, 2020
posted by bearwife at 12:14 AM on May 25, 2020
Meringues already mentioned, include things like lemon meringue pie.
New York style cheesecake.
posted by Cozybee at 1:22 AM on May 31, 2020
New York style cheesecake.
posted by Cozybee at 1:22 AM on May 31, 2020
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Italian Meringue Buttercream - aka the best frosting ever! (You could also do Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but I prefer the Italian method.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:29 AM on May 24, 2020 [4 favorites]