Many students who make bread know that the soul of making bread taste better lies in the dough. The core of how to make a high-quality and delicious dough lies in the mixing of the dough. Today we will tell you some commonly used mixing and stirring methods and tools.
Common methods and tools for mixing and stirring
Mixing and stirring is a group of verbs that are used in product production. It is a common method for mixing baking materials and semi-finished products, and requires the help of various instruments and processing methods.
stirring is the main way of mixing. The "mix" method is mainly divided into two types: mechanical and manual. The two can be operated separately or can be combined to work in product production to achieve the best product condition.
mechanical method
mechanical method needs to be carried out with a mixer, homogenizer , cooking machine and other equipment, so that two or more different materials can be mixed together evenly.
uses mechanical method to mix materials, which improves production efficiency on the one hand. Taking the meringue as an example, the electric egg beater takes less time and higher efficiency than manual beater.
On the other hand, mechanical method can make the product achieve a better taste and state. Taking the production of ganache and drizzle as an example, compared with manual stirring with a homogenizer, the materials are mixed more uniformly, the taste is smoother, the gloss is higher, and the shelf life is longer.
Common mechanical tools
01
Blender
From the perspective of working methods, there are two types of common mixers, handheld and table-sitting.
The working principle of the two types of mixers is the same, and they are universal in many cases. Compared with the two, each has its advantages and disadvantages.
•Handheld type requires the operation of the arm, so long-term work can easily cause fatigue. The table-sitting type can be automatically mixed according to the instructions.
•The table-sitting stirrer is only mechanically carried out along a fixed track when working, and cannot fully take care of every corner. The manual one can be adjusted according to needs at any time, making it more targeted. Therefore, when using a table-sitting mixer, you need to stop the mechanical operation from time to time, use a spatula to stir the mixed materials back and forth, and then continue to mix and stir with the mixer.
Generally, in order to meet the mixing work of different materials, the mixer will be equipped with different mixer heads. There are three common ones.
whisk head
features
applicable methods
applicable materials
mesh stirrer
contact surface, dense contact surface, fast beat and mixing speed, can quickly present a delicate and smooth state
beat, stir
egg white, egg yolk, whole egg, soft butter and other soft and liquid materials
fan-shaped stirrer
contact surface, small strength, strength Large, can effectively mix hard materials and powder materials
paste-like materials whipping, stirring, softening, and hard materials such as cold butter, almond paste
hook-like stirrer
0 contact surface, large force, can effectively mix hard materials and powder materials. The unique curved shape can make the material winding and produce tendon
bread dough
dough that needs to be stirred into tendon
mesh stirrer
mesh stirrer
This type of mixing head is the first choice for whipping cream and eggs.
mesh stirrer is mostly used for whipping cream.
For example, the Italian meringue is used.
Fan-shaped stirrer
head structure is relatively stable and not easy to deform; the contact surface has a split structure, and it is not easy to cause mixed materials to be entangled and gluten is not easy to produce; the contact area with the material is small, and the effect is not as good as the mesh structure.
In addition to stirring bread dough, it is suitable for basic mixing of small amounts of dough, and it is also suitable for mixing materials with certain hardness such as almond paste. Sometimes, in order to better present a stirring effect, some materials can be softened with a fan-shaped stirrer first, and then beaten with a mesh stirrer, such as cream cheese, etc.
hook-shaped stirrer
hook-shaped stirrer is used very few times in dessert making, but is indispensable in bread making. It can entangle the ingredients and act on wheat flour to help gluten form quickly.
Home-style mixers are smaller, and the mixers used in professional bakeries are generally larger in the container.
Common hook-shaped stirrer heads are as follows.
02
Food cooking machine
The working principle is similar to the mixer, and the basic functions of the cooking machine are also mixed. However, the biggest difference from the mixer is that the cooking machine has a knife head, and the common ones include double knife head, four knife head, six knife head, etc. According to this function, the cooking machine can actually be divided into handheld and table-sitting styles, but the names may vary greatly.
Common food cooking machine functions
Because the cooking machine has a knife head, most cooking machines can do all general mixing, crushing, and grinding, but due to the different quality and quantity of the knife head, the effect after the action will be different.
Basically crushed:
Stir the blocky material into sandy, mud, etc.
Basic grinding:
is commonly used for the crushing of nut materials, and the materials can be ground into powder. The effect depends more on the cutting head and quality of the cooking machine.
Basic mixing:
and mixer have the same functions, but the purpose is different. In addition to mixing, the main purpose of the mixer may be to beat, ripple, etc. The main job of the food cooking machine is to mix ingredients quickly and efficiently mix ingredients. Some good cooking machines also have an emulsification effect.
batter texture mixing operation
puree mixing operation: 8
There are many types of food cooking machines. According to its main purpose, the targets may be dish paste, seed grinding, ingredient mixing, ingredient emulsification, etc. For different purposes, the cutting head and machine power brought by the machine will be very different.
Common types are:
Among these machines, homogenizer is a more common type of dessert making. Generally, the homogenizer has four cutter heads. During high-speed stirring, the cutter head can destroy the bubbles or make the bubbles float up, making the texture more delicate, and is more suitable for the production of the surface. When using it, a container with a certain height will generally be used to prevent the blade from contacting the air during work.
Basic comparison:
Agitator
Features
Applicable methods h
Applicable materials
Notes
Cooking bar
Have two or more blades, can quickly mix substances, long handle
stir, emulsify
chocolate, almond paste and other materials
//
homogenizer
Use four blades to quickly mix ingredients, and can eliminate bubbles when used
emulsification, defoaming
liquid material (especially for surface making)
crusher
crusher
strong force, has a blade, strong crushing ability, good sealing, contact surface The large
crushing and quickly mixing
solid matter requires fast mixing hard and soft materials
rolling pin to crush, smash
manual method
artificial method
manual method needs to be carried out with tools such as rubber spatula, scraper or manual egg beater. Different products are made, and the way to choose "mix" is also different.
stirrer
features
applicable methods
applicable materials
notes
egg beater
large contact surface, handheld type is easy to grasp, easy to operate
stir, beat
full liquid material, small amount of materials mix
stir batter materials, be careful not to stir the transition, so that the batter has gluten.
scraper
vertical surface use makes it possible to cut and mix materials. The surface pressing method can eliminate flour particles and other materials such as
cut and stir, stir, stir, and stir, and other materials with bubbles,
//
semi-circular scraper
1
0 contact surface, which can be quickly cut and stir and stir
1
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01
stirring
stirring is a technique of holding a scraper in the same direction, using a large bottom and quickly turning it over. It can make the materials mix in a short time. Mainly used for the mixing of two scenarios.
First, stirring is used in the production of products that are easy to defoam, such as mixing meringue and batter in egg split sponge. Stirring can mix the two faster, shorten the defoaming time of the protein foam, and make the finished product reach its best state.
Second, stirring is used in mixing some mousse sauces with high temperature requirements. The stirring method can shorten the cooling time and facilitate better molding of mousse in the later stage.
02
Cut mix
cut mixing is a method of holding a scraper in hand, cutting the scraper surface straight into the material, and mixing the material back and forth. Use the method of constantly cutting and mixing to make the materials better mix and reach the desired state.
cut-and-mix is often used in products that do not require gluten or foam-containing products, and can be used separately in product production.
often combines the stirring method to achieve a comprehensive mixing method of up and down and left and right. It is used in products with large amounts of mixed materials or is difficult to mix. Taking cakes made of powder and wet materials as an example, when there are too many powders, two "mix" methods are used to mix. On the one hand, shorten the mixing time, and on the other hand, prevent gluten from being produced during the mixing process and affecting the taste of the cake.
3
press-mixed
adopts the method of constantly rolling the material, destroying the external structure of the material, increasing the contact area between the required mixed materials, and making the materials better mixing.
is often used in the production of some crispy doughs with less moisture content and macaron batter.
04
folding press-mix
by constantly folding the mixed materials together, and by press-mixing, the materials are fully subjected to the rolling force, thereby achieving a complete mixing state. It is often used in the making of crispy biscuits and sweet crispy doughs in manual operation. Tools with some hardness should be used to fold and press and mix, and tools that are easy to break or weaken strength should not be used.
05
stirring
In dessert making, stirring is the most common basic operation method. Generally speaking, the above four mixing methods belong to the category of stirring, but most tools do not use mesh stirring, because the mesh stirring has more cutting surfaces, which can easily cause defoaming. When stirring in the same direction, it is easy to form a regular network structure, which has limitations on the mixing of foam-shaped products and the production of crispy dough.
In addition to this, most liquids and other mixed with more use of this kind of tools.
Various "mix" techniques can be used alone according to different product characteristics, or they can be operated together by mechanical and manual methods, which can not only improve production efficiency, but also achieve the desired taste and state of the product. So learn well, stirring the baking dough is the soul of seeking a high-quality bread taste!
If you want to come to Bread Prince’s Bread Training Club to study, please feel free to consult.
