Upgrading Kitchen for Fudge Brownie Production

[Saloni]

Hi. As a home baker, I have been making and selling small batches of fudge brownies. Have now got a contract with a store for regular supply, so will have to expand my kitchen. I currently use a ladle to mix the batter for the brownies. Will have to buy a mixer now. Need help to understand which type of mixer / attachment should I look for, which gives the same mix quality as hand mixed.

Need advise on the oven as well. I have a small convection oven currently. Will now need to buy a commercial oven. Should I still buy a convection one or is a deck oven good? These are dense, fudge brownies which are moist.

Thank you so much.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi. As a home baker, I have been making and selling small batches of fudge brownies. Have now got a contract with a store for regular supply, so will have to expand my kitchen. I currently use a ladle to mix the batter for the brownies. Will have to buy a mixer now. Need help to understand which type of mixer / attachment should I look for, which gives the same mix quality as hand mixed.

Need advise on the oven as well. I have a small convection oven currently. Will now need to buy a commercial oven. Should I still buy a convection one or is a deck oven good? These are dense, fudge brownies which are moist.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations on your new business.
Pretty much all stand mixers come with the same attachments: bowl, paddle, whisk, dough hook. The difference is in the capacity of the bowl and the watts of the motor.

There are no attachments to produce hand mixing since that is not a mixing method replicated by machine.


If you’re in the US purchasing a commercial oven for a home is not that simple. Home kitchens are wired for 120v and commercial ovens are 220v so you can’t even plug it in without getting your home kitchen rewired. Also commercial ovens require specific ventilation and fire insulation because they produce a lot of heat. So stores that sell commercial ovens often won’t even sell an oven to a homeowner unless the home has been upgraded with the proper ventilation and fire reinforcements and permits. And then there’s the issue with fire codes and city zoning. Your city may not even allow a commercial business in a residential neighborhood. It’s one thing to bake from your home oven as a cottage food baker. It’s another thing to install a commercial oven.

I would recommend you look at renting commercial kitchen space hourly while you figure out your kitchen situation.

 

[J13]

Will have to buy a mixer now. Need help to understand which type of mixer / attachment should I look for, which gives the same mix quality as hand mixed.

Are you thinking “kitchen” mixer or commercial mixer? If commercial, which are really big, really powerful, and will produce a LOT of batter for those brownies...check out your local restaurant supply store (may or may not be one near you, but you can always go online or phone the nearest one). They can tell you which would be the best for your home business.

If, on the other hand, you’re not increasing your output that much, and only need a kitchen mixer to get the brownies made faster and at double the usual amount....I advocate for KitchenAid. They’ve been the workhorse for kitchens for literally 100 years (the first ones came out in 1919). They’re super reliable, last and last, have a good reputation as a company for helping you out if something breaks. They’re also recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, and they can be modified with extra attachments to do all kinds of things (like a meat grinder or pasta maker).

Their largest size would probably be best, the mixer where the bowl comes up to the beaters rather than the beaters being lowered down in. It’s the most powerful and professional, but also the tallest, so be sure to check the height of your counter and shelving to see if it will fit. Speaking of which, they now make a “mini” mixer if your kitchen is super small. It has all the power of their big ones, but is a third smaller and lighter.

An added bonus: KitchenAids come in pretty colors

One big warning, however, if you do go with the largest model KitchenAid. The big ones come with these lovely glass bows. If you’ve watched any baking shows on the Food Network, you’ll have these seen these type of KitchenAid mixers and their glass bowls. But in almost everyone one of those shows there’s an episode where the bowl’s lip ends up breaking and ruining one baker’s cake or cookies. So if you get the big mixer, be sure to also get a big metal bowl (or two) to go with it. The glass bowl is good for show, but precarious as your go-to bowl.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Are you thinking “kitchen” mixer or commercial mixer? If commercial, which are really big, really powerful, and will produce a LOT of batter for those brownies...check out your local restaurant supply store (may or may not be one near you, but you can always go online or phone the nearest one). They can tell you which would be the best for your home business.

If, on the other hand, you’re not increasing your output that much, and only need a kitchen mixer to get the brownies made faster and at double the usual amount....I advocate for KitchenAid. They’ve been the workhorse for kitchens for literally 100 years (the first ones came out in 1919). They’re super reliable, last and last, have a good reputation as a company for helping you out if something breaks. They’re also recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, and they can be modified with extra attachments to do all kinds of things (like a meat grinder or pasta maker).

Their largest size would probably be best, the mixer where the bowl comes up to the beaters rather than the beaters being lowered down in. It’s the most powerful and professional, but also the tallest, so be sure to check the height of your counter and shelving to see if it will fit. Speaking of which, they now make a “mini” mixer if your kitchen is super small. It has all the power of their big ones, but is a third smaller and lighter.

An added bonus: KitchenAids come in pretty colors

One big warning, however, if you do go with the largest model KitchenAid. The big ones come with these lovely glass bows. If you’ve watched any baking shows on the Food Network, you’ll have these seen these type of KitchenAid mixers and their glass bowls. But in almost everyone one of those shows there’s an episode where the bowl’s lip ends up breaking and ruining one baker’s cake or cookies. So if you get the big mixer, be sure to also get a big metal bowl (or two) to go with it. The glass bowl is good for show, but precarious as your go-to bowl.

@J13 , you cannot use a commercial mixer in a Home kitchen. A home kitchen is wired for 110v. Commercial mixers are wired for 220v. So it can’t be plugged into a home kitchen.

 

[J13]

@J13 , you cannot use a commercial mixer in a Home kitchen. A home kitchen is wired for 110v. Commercial mixers are wired for 220v. So it can’t be plugged into a home kitchen.

@J13 , you cannot use a commercial mixer in a Home kitchen. A home kitchen is wired for 110v. Commercial mixers are wired for 220v. So it can’t be plugged into a home kitchen.

Heh. I should have been more specific, especially as it's unlikely Solani's going to want to make 20 quarts of batter . The commercial mixer I was thinking of is 8 Quart and requires 115V—which home plugs can handle (most home air conditioners are 120V). That said, as a commercial mixer meant for restaurants, bakeries and such, it may come with a plug for those 220V appliances, and so won't be able to go into regular old home socket. I should have considered that. My bad!