Steno

A fork mixer develops dough slowly, with a fork arm lifting and folding the mass rather than driving it hard. Bakeries and pizzerias use them where a long, gentle mix suits the dough and the finished crumb they are after.

A spiral mixer drives dough with a hook and develops it quickly. A fork mixer works more slowly and puts less mechanical stress into the dough, which changes both the mixing time and the way the dough handles afterwards.

Two Steno fork mixers are listed, the FO35 and the FO50. Hospitality Connect supplies them to bakeries, pizzerias and production kitchens, with trade pricing and delivery Australia-wide from Penrith, New South Wales.

Size it on the batch you mix regularly, not the largest batch you might one day want. A mixer that runs consistently underfilled works the dough poorly, and one that is overfilled puts unnecessary strain on the machine.

Check the floor space, the clearance needed around the bowl for loading and emptying, and the power supply at the install point. Bakery mixers are heavy machines, so the delivery path into the room needs checking as well.