Quick trip to the bakery on Main Street made me rethink my stand mixer

I popped into that little bakery on Main Street in Richmond last weekend just for a croissant. While I was waiting, I saw the baker pull out a hand whisk and some bowls to make a small batch of buttercream instead of using her big commercial mixer. She told me for batches under 2 cups, the hand whisk is faster and she doesn't have to scrape the bowl down as much. I've been using my KitchenAid for everything small, but now I'm thinking she's right - has anyone else downsized their tools for small bakes?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_moore16h ago

She's not right about faster. Hand whisking takes longer, period.

kelly63812h ago

Did you catch that video from Cook's Illustrated where they timed it? They found a whisk is actually faster for tiny batches because you skip the setup and cleanup.

joel_jones10h ago

You said "a whisk is actually faster for tiny batches" and that's fair for maybe a single egg or a half cup of cream. But where do you draw the line on "tiny batches" before the setup time argument falls apart, like a cup of mayo or two egg whites? I'm genuinely curious if there's a volume cutoff where the whisk stops being worth the arm workout.