Why Buy a Spiral Mixer?

Our Spiral mixers are designed specially for mixing pizza dough. Powerful motors with overload relay protection guarantee high performance to mix the stiffest dough. The extra durable stainless steel spiral agitator kneads dough in a hand-like fashion to produce smooth dough perfect for pizzas and bagels. Our dough mixers, mounted on castors, are easy to maintain and clean. In terms of dough capacity spiral mixers can handle a much larger volume as compared to the Planetary mixers. Commissaries and bakeries most often use spiral mixers, but medium to large volume pizza operations can also find a spiral mixer useful.

Types of Mixers

The majority of dough mixers for commercial kitchens are planetary mixers. They use a variety of mixing attachments, which turn on an offset shaft while the shaft rotates around the bowl. This motion is similar to the planets rotating around the sun, hence the name planetary. The broad range of attachments makes this a very versatile piece of equipment.

Operations that mix a lot of dough maybe interested in a spiral mixer. Spiral mixers are used only for dough mixing, using a stationary bowl and an extra durable agitator as dough hook. Many people believe the spiral mixer makes the best dough; in fact they are the preferred dough-mixing machines in bakeries.

Vertical cutter-mixers (VCM) are basically an industrial-sized version of a food processor. They can be used for mixing, kneading, chopping, blending, and emulsifying. Although the VCM is very versatile it has some disadvantages; it’s very noisy, it can be somewhat difficult to clean, and some users feel it doesn’t produce as good a dough as a planetary or spiral mixer. Reciprocating arm mixers and horizontal mixers are also used in food service and large bakery operations, but their application in most kitchen operations is limited.

Types of Spiral Mixers

We offer three different types of spiral mixers. The basic types are as follows:

Spiral Mixer - 40 Quart: This is our smallest capacity Spiral mixer. It has 44 lbs of Dough Capacity.

Spiral Mixer - 100 Quart: This is our medium capacity Spiral mixer. It has 143 lbs of Dough Capacity.

Spiral Mixer - 125 Quart: This is our large capacity Spiral mixer. It has 176 lbs of Dough Capacity.

Capacity

Unlike planetary mixers, which are sized according to dough volume, spiral mixers are sized according to the maximum flour or dough capacities. The capacities for the American Eagle line of spiral mixers is as follows:

Spiral Mixer Maximum Dough Capacity Maximum Flour Capacity

Spiral Mixer - 40 Quart: 44 lbs dough capacity

Spiral Mixer - 100 Quart: 143 lbs dough capacity

Spiral Mixer - 125 Quart: 176 lbs dough capacity

Large bakeries often refer to spiral mixers by the amount of 100 lb. bags of flour it can hold. So a 40 quart is a “half-bagger”, a 100 quart is a “one and a half-bagger”, and a 125 quart is a “two-bagger”. To maximize the life of a spiral mixer, it is a good idea to reduce the maximum batch size by 15 percent when mixing heavy dough (dough having an absorption ration of 50 percent or less). Because our spiral mixers have such precision tolerances, very small batches (as small as 10 percent of the maximum capacity!) can be mixed. Planetary mixers for example, need to use downsized bowls and agitators for small batches.

Mixing Speed

Speed-wise, using a spiral mixer cuts about 1/4 or 1/2 off the mixing time of a planetary mixer. On average a spiral mixer will produce a batch of soft dough in 6 to 8 minutes. This faster mixing time also translates into less temperature rise in the dough as compared to a planetary mixer.

Features of Our Spiral Mixers

- Our Spiral Mixers are specially built for the U.S. market. American dough tends to be stiffer than European dough. That’s why our heavy-duty agitator is 25% thicker than industry leader. It’s always important to make sure the spiral mixer you are thinking of purchasing has the power to handle U.S. dough. The internal components of a spiral mixer are very important; if the mixer is cheaper, is it comparable?

- The reversible action in our mixers makes better dough and in less time.

- Our mixers are made of quality materials: high polish stainless steel meets food industry sanitation needs. Sturdy cast iron-frame. Non-porous food surfaces easily wipe off after use.

- We’ve taken care to make the mixers safe for you: See-through stainless steel guard stands up to the toughest challenges and its interlocking mechanism prevents mixing until guard is fully closed.

- All our mixers are mounted on casters to enable mobility and easy maintenance.

Pros and Cons of Spiral Mixer

Spiral mixers are quick mixing machines, making them well suited for large bakery, commissary, and pizza operations. Smaller spirals such as the 40 quart spiral mixer fit well in even medium volume operations. Proponents of the spiral mixer feel that it produces superior quality dough. The main drawback to spiral mixers is that are a specialized piece of equipment. They will not mix anything but dough.

Conclusion

A spiral mixer is perfect for any operation that primarily mixes dough. Our line of spiral mixers carry a one-year parts and 90 days labor warranty. For help deciding if a spiral mixer is right for your operation or if you have any other questions, contact our highly trained customer support team or call us at 1(800)914-1991. Thank you!