Here's Why It Pays To Buy A Second Bowl For Your Stand Mixer
Nobody can deny the benefits of owning a stand mixer. Just throw ingredients in the bowl to make bread, affix a dough hook, and you can forgo the tedious kneading usually associated with the task of bread baking. Attach a whisk to whip up a fluffy meringue or a beater attachment to make a cake from scratch. Very few small appliances can be considered essential kitchen tools as much as the stand mixer.
It can be hard to justify the cost of kitchen gadgets and attachments, especially if you've already shelled out a couple of hundred dollars (or more) for a stand mixer. You want to make sure that investment is making your life easier in the kitchen and can serve multiple purposes.
If you have ever considered investing in a second bowl for your stand mixer, but are concerned about the extra cost, we may be able to help you justify the purchase.
The benefits of a second bowl
There are many benefits to having a second bowl for your stand mixer, especially if you spend a lot of time baking. When you need to mix wet and dry ingredients separately, a second bowl can allow you to use your mixer to properly combine dry ingredients in one bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients.
Several Reddit users share how they consider their extra mixing bowl invaluable while whipping egg whites to be added to batter. They're able to change out the attachment and switch bowls easily. Having another bowl allows you to let bread dough rise in one bowl while you prepare something else in the other.
Anyone who's made multiple batches of cookies during the holidays knows how annoying it can be to switch out and wash bowls in the middle of the baking process. Having a second bowl can eliminate that aggravation.
But before you shell out money for a second bowl, make sure it fits your stand mixer. Not all bowls are interchangeable, even within the same brand (per KitchenAid).
Make it multi-purpose
There's no sense in buying a second bowl identical to the one you already own. Finding a bowl made of a different material or size can open up options for how you use your stand mixer. Buy a bowl with a handle or a spout if yours doesn't have one. Choose glass if your existing bowl is made of stainless steel. A glass bowl allows you to monitor the dough as it rises (per MasterClass) and can be handy if you need to put the bowl in the microwave to melt chocolate or butter.
Most stand mixers come with a 5- or 7-quart bowl, so consider buying a 3-quart bowl perfect for small mixing jobs eliminating the need to dirty a large bowl. When it comes time to clean that little bowl, its size will allow it to fit easily in the dishwasher.
One newer introduction to the stand mixer world is a multi-purpose bread bowl that allows you to mix, cover, bake, and serve bread using a specially designed lid (per Food Network). For bread bakers, that bowl could be an investment worth making.