Dream Stand Mixer Attachments
December 15, 2012I, like other professional pastry chefs and serious home bakers, love my stand mixer. It’s an extension of my hands but more powerful and quicker. It’s also an extra pair of hands. It can do its thing while I pull cakes out of the oven or refill the sugar bin. I especially rely on it this time of year when holiday baking is at its peak.
But there’s a lot a stand mixer can’t do. I’m not complaining but with long to-do lists I dream and brainstorm about new mixer attachments.
Large commercial bakeries have industrial equipment which perform many mundane tasks. Independent restaurant or bakery don’t do enough volume to warrant these big machines that are bigger than our kitchens and cost more than a pastry chef’s annual salary.
So here’s my list of stand mixer attachments I wish someone would make. I realize these are far fetched but they definitely would make baking faster. I know pastry chefs besides myself would appreciate them. Maybe Santa Claus and his elves can get creative and I will find one in my stocking.
- Segment citrus segments
- Scoop cookie dough into balls
- Pipe pate au choux into éclairs and profiteroles
- Separate eggs
- Pencil sharpener like machine to pick fresh herbs
- Roll tuiles into desired shapes
- Chocolate temperer
- Sift dry ingredients directly into a machine
- Instantly soften butter to room temperature
10. Grate citrus zest
My wish would be for the kitchen aid metal bowl to mix better in the very bottom of the bowl. I understand I need to scrap down the sides, but most times I have to mix the ingredients on the bottom too.
#10 definitely. When I worked at a bakery and had to zest 40 limes in a row, I always wished someone would invent a machine like the lottery balls are in, lined with rasp graters, and the limes would somehow bounce up and down and all around the machine until the zest was all grated. Tempering chocolate would be awesome too.
I thought there was one for all of those tasks. It’s called a pastry assistant. Make it through the holidays well! JLL