Restaurants come in all varieties. From your fast-food restaurant to your local pizza place, there’s a medley of options for all your needs. And if you decide to open a restaurant yourself, you must ensure you have the proper equipment. For a bakery or pizza place, this means getting the ideal professional dough mixer to help you quickly and efficiently serve your customers the best dough-based products you have to offer.

However, with the multitude of options out there, how do you choose what’s best for you? The success of your business depends on you getting this right. This is especially true if you own a restaurant specializing in baked goods or even ice cream or pizza. As you narrow your choices down, you might have to decide between two popular types of mixers: planetary and spiral. There are a ton of differences between the two. However, when looking at spiral and planetary mixers, how do you choose the right one for you? We’ll dive into the details below. 

Why Get a Commercial Mixer?

Getting a commercial mixer is crucial for any restaurant service. Rather than making the dough by hand, which is often unsustainable for many restaurants, it allows you to make large batches without breaking a sweat. Commercial mixers are heavy duty, meaning they won’t break down every year. Because of this, their lifespans are long; they can last around 10 to 15 years in some cases, depending on the brand. Finally, they’re essential for restaurants like bakeries and pizza places, especially given how smooth and even they work the dough. Now that you understand why commercial mixers are important, we’ll dive into what makes planetary and spiral mixers unique.

What Are Planetary Mixers?

Planetary mixers are incredibly versatile, even to the point of being called “all-purpose” mixers. They can make pretty much anything, from frosting and cookies to pizza and sauces. There are a few removable parts, including the beater, whip, and hook attachments. These offer the person who has the mixer more flexibility in mixing overall. This is a key difference between planetary and spiral mixers and shows how to choose the best one for you.

It works so that while the bowl remains stationary, the hood rotates and circles the bowl. The name makes sense when you look at this; it’s like a “planet” rotating on its axis. Globe planetary mixtures save even more time and money because you can use the hub attachments for various purposes. Planetary mixers can cut, slice, shred, grind, or even tenderize cheese, meats, and fruits. Cleanup is easy as well. All you have to do is remove the agitator and bowl and wash them in the sink or machine.

What Are Spiral Mixers?

The spiral mixer efficiently and gently mixes the dough. This lets the gluten structure properly develop but doesn’t overwork the ingredients in the process. It’s certainly not as versatile as the planetary mixer, but it creates products that have such high quality. Because of this, it’s a must-have for bakeries and pizzerias.

The bowl of a spiral mixer turns the dough and swivels it into the rotating hook. This is perfect for kneading the dough optimally. The way the bowl and hook synchronize is ideal for the desired outcome—smooth and even dough. They also have multiple speeds rather than just one. The low speed brings the mixture together, and the high-speed processes gluten structure development.

While kneading, the breaker bar separates the dough into two halves, and this only lets part of the dough pass through to the hook. Splitting it like this is great for keeping friction low and making the ingredients evenly. Unlike planetary mixers, the hook and bowl are permanently fixed. So you have to clean them where they are.

Buying Guide for Planetary Mixers

There are a few things you have to keep in mind when you buy a planetary mixer. Your mixer needs to be powerful when mixing ingredients with high density. Planetary mixers have low horsepower ratings, but you aren’t usually focusing on making giant batches of dough over and over. Therefore, you don’t need the most powerful mixer in the world. Find a mixer that can fit your needs, not just the most powerful one. You can save time and money this way.

It should have an adequate capacity to fit in your kitchen and process your ingredients effectively. Remember not to overload the mixer because this can wear down the parts and take over your workspace. You should also have safety features and other perks that make the bowl efficient and safe, such as a bowl lift and guard. Food pads can also keep the mixer in place instead of letting it slide over the floor.

Buying Guide for Spiral Mixers

Spiral mixers also have a set of rules that you should adhere to when it’s time to buy one. You should consider getting a spiral mixer with a dual-pulley design system. It produces more torque overall and puts a lot less stress on internal components, making the system last longer.

Your mixer should have heavy-duty construction and reliable components, even with the high price points. Quality products mean less maintenance overall and a long product lifespan. As a general rule, the more it weighs, the better the components that comprise the mixer are.

Bidirectional bowl rotation is a key feature of spiral mixers that rotate the bowl in both directions. You can create smaller batches this way. Bidirectional rotation makes your spiral mixer easy to use and clean.

Which Is Best for You?

This question depends largely on your needs. A planetary mixer is great for overall food processing, though it’s particularly useful for kneading dough. Its versatility and flexibility make it a mainstay in any kitchen. The add-ons help you save time and money on other commercial kitchen appliances that ultimately do the same thing as your planetary mixer.

Spiral mixers are more specialized but tend to pack a bigger punch. They’re useful for creating doughs with different applications, and their specialization makes them a must-have appliance for a pizzeria or bakery. A spiral mixer is necessary if you operate one of those two establishments.

Overall, many differences between planetary and spiral mixers exist, and either one of these two options is perfect for a restaurant. If you’re looking to buy a professional dough mixer, we have some of the best in stock here at Pro Restaurant Equipment. Take a look through our catalog today!