Spiral mixers ensure proper dough consistency and well-blended ingredients because they rotate the bowl in both directions. When producing a consistently high-quality dough is a priority, spiral mixers tend to be the best option. They can also produce much smaller batches than planetary mixers.
Spiral mixers are suited for mixing dough, because they keep the dough at a lower temperature given how the mixer bowl rotates as the spiral hook spins to knead the dough. This ensures the dough does not overheat or ferment too quickly, which affects how the yeast activates. Temperature control is especially important when preparing artisanal breads, because they need to ferment at a slow pace to come out perfectly.
Spiral mixers use one motor to rotate the bowl and another motor to rotate the spiral arm. The mixers operate with a pulley system, so they are quieter than planetary mixers. The dual bowl rotation also makes the mixer easier and faster to clean after a long day in the kitchen, as all a baker must do is reverse the bowl to clean the dough off the hook.
