Remember when every bakery had a single, giant Hobart mixer?

My first job at Miller's Bakery in 2005, we had this old 80-quart beast that mixed everything. Now my shop uses three smaller 20-quart mixers for different doughs, so we can do brioche, baguettes, and cookies all at once without cross-contamination. It's way more efficient but I miss the rumble of that one big machine doing the heavy lifting for the whole day. Anyone else make a switch like that in the last decade?

2 comments

2 Comments

evannelson1mo ago

Oh man, that's a huge change. I get the efficiency thing, but I'm curious, did switching to the smaller mixers change the actual bread at all? Like, maybe the big one had a different rhythm that developed the dough better, or is that just a romantic idea?

willowroberts1mo ago

Our old 80-quart mixer had this slow, heavy pulse that felt like kneading by hand. The new 20-quart ones are so fast and smooth, the dough texture is definitely tighter, less open.