The Details That Matter

I’ve had my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for at least ten years, but (here comes a confession) it turns out I’ve been using it wrong.

I know, you’re wondering how anyone could possibly be using it wrong, especially someone who bakes as much as I do. Well here’s the story:

A couple weeks ago I took a baking class at the Culinary Institute of America, called Baking for Brunch. (This was most definitely not an allergen-free baking class, but great for technique and recipe inspiration.) The very first thing Chef Hayman taught us was how to use the Kitchen Aid stand mixers at our baking stations – mixers exactly like the one I have at home.

“I want to hear it click when you put the bowl in,” Chef Hayman said, “A really nice loud click.”

A click? What was he talking about? My partner and I pressed our bowl into the mixer stand and sure enough, we heard a click. A nice loud click locked the bowl in place.

This must be different than my mixer. Or was it?

The first thing I did when I got home (after handing all my gluten, milk, and egg-laden baked goods to my non-food-allergic husband for his tasting pleasure) was to check out my own stand mixer. And yes, when I pressed down on the bowl I heard the click, locking it into place. And yes, it does make a difference. I loved my Kitchen Aid mixer before, but now it performs even better.

When it’s not locked into place, the bowl sits at a slightly different angle, as you might be able to see in these pictures.

Kitchen Aid mixer without bowl locked into place (aka the way I used to use it):

Kitchen Aid mixer with bowl locked into place (aka how I will use it from now on):

Go figure…