Thanks for the feedback...You've given me pause about my decision. I may not necessarily need a commercial but an additional good stand mixer to pull double duty to keep up with my cakes and icings for my orders...I need to reduce my time instead of mixing one batter at a time when I have different varieties of cake and icings. So now my question is whether I can find another good stand mixer to fit the bill. BTW: I don't do breads and any other recipes that would require me to use the dough hook thus my Kitchenaid mixer has last me over 10yrs without fail
I am wondering if this is a mixer availability issue instead of a mixer capacity problem.
Just thinking out loud here…running two mixers with two different batter flavors, won’t reduce work. Each batter still requires the same prep and mixing labor.
Your oven capacity is also a consideration. If you purchased a second mixer that was say 8 quarts you then have 14 quarts total mixing capacity. But there’s no production increase if your oven capacity can’t hold that much cake.
Have you thought about purchasing extra mixer bowls and beater attachments?
Some years ago I realized all the emphasis on mise en place was more about working clean and avoiding mistakes like leaving out an ingredient. It had nothing to do with the labor efficiency, especially when equipment availability came into play.
No matter how well I organized prior to the bake, I inevitably had to stop to wash the bowl and beaters before moving on to the next phase/item.
Then one day I had an epiphany: why not buy extra mixer bowls and beater like they do in a commercial kitchen?
It wasn’t so much a mixer capacity issue as it was an equipment availability issue that was slowing down my production.
All of the prep and mixing is the same. But there is time saved moving seamlessly from one item to the next without having to wash the mixing equipment first. Having to wash mixer bowls and beaters between phases is added work
The additional mixing bowls and attachment, as well as good planning took the stress out of the baking.
For every big bake I prepare a shopping and baking schedule.
I place all the weighed ingredients, mixer bowls, attachments, and other tools on a sheet pan.
The mixing methods for each item is taped on the cabinets above the mixer in the order in which I will be mixing. Having the extra mixer bowls and attachments lets me go from one tray of ingredients to the next.