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Paul Hollywood doesn’t seem like a guy who needs a lot of tools when baking, so if he says something is essential, you take notice. The famous host of “The Great British Baking Show” was born into a family of bakers, before going on to an illustrious career in some of Britain’s finest hotels. While obviously an all-around artisan, his specialty is bread, and watching the speed with which he can knead and shape bread dough with nothing but his hands makes you think they must be the only thing he’s ever needed. But it turns out even the most skilled people need a lot of help when churning out bake after bake. And when talking to the Irish Examiner, Hollywood told them that everyone should invest in a stand mixer.
Hollywood does admit that stand mixers, or in his British English, “table mixers,” can be expensive, but if you are serious about baking, he thinks they are more than worth it. According to Hollywood, “You’re going to use it to death. It’s going to last you a long time, probably the rest of your life if it’s looked after.” Especially for beginners or people intimidated by bread, Hollywood says stand mixers take a lot of the hard work and worries of kneading the dough out of the equation. You may drop $400 on one, but if you break it down in cost per use, there may be no more valuable tool for a baker.
A stand mixer will make a huge difference for bakers
Hollywood’s reasoning is the exact reason stand mixers have stood the test of time, even as many other kitchen tools have come and gone. Not only will it cut kneading time on sticky bread dough down to a few minutes, but it can help you make basically every popular style of baked good. Stand mixers beat batters for cookies and cakes, they whip up cream and meringues, and can whisk together frostings and icings. The time and effort saved on each of these tasks can be enormous, which means it won’t just make the recipes you already bake easier, but you’ll probably end up making things you never would have tried in the first place. And as a welcome bonus, making everything in a bowl makes cleanup a lot easier than working on a counter or mixing things by hand.
If you still aren’t sure a stand mixer is worth it, there are some budget stand mixer brands on the market besides the famous, but pricey, KitchenAid that aren’t bad. Instant Pot makes a stand mixer that comes in under $150 and has quite positive reviews. There are also smaller KitchenAid mixers closer to $300 that would be perfectly good if you are usually only baking for one or two people. It’s undeniably an investment, but one that will pay off over years of delicious breads, cookies, and cakes.
