A commercial dough mixer is the workhorse of any bakery, pizzeria or production kitchen, and choosing the right one comes down to two questions: what type of dough are you making, and how much of it per batch? This guide walks through the four mixer types, gives you a sizing table that turns bowl litres into kilograms of finished dough, sets the spiral and planetary mixers head to head, and lays out the price bands so you can find the right size and type for your operation. Browse the full range of commercial dough mixers once you know what you are looking for.
What is a commercial dough mixer?
A commercial dough mixer is a heavy duty machine that kneads bread, pizza, pastry or cake dough at a much higher capacity than a domestic stand mixer. The motor, gearing and bowl are built for daily use over many hours, with batch sizes that start around 5 kg of dough and climb past 100 kg on industrial models.
The two parts that matter most are the bowl, measured in litres, and the agitator, which is shaped for the dough type. Bread and pizza doughs need a spiral hook running in a bowl that turns. Cake batter, biscuit dough and lighter mixtures need a planetary action, where the agitator orbits inside a fixed bowl. Get the pairing wrong and you either burn out the motor or end up with poor dough development.
Types of dough mixer
There are four common formats. Most commercial kitchens will use one or two of them, not all four.
Spiral dough mixer
A spiral dough mixer uses a fixed spiral hook and a rotating bowl. The shape forces the dough to fold over itself rather than wrap around the hook, so gluten develops evenly and the dough does not heat up as quickly during a long mix. Spiral mixers are the standard choice for bread, pizza and ciabatta. Output ranges from 8 kg in compact 18 litre models up to 80 kg in floor standing units.
If you run a pizzeria or bakery as the main use case, a spiral is almost always the right call.
Planetary mixer
A planetary mixer has a fixed bowl and an attachment that orbits inside it, in the same way a domestic stand mixer works. Three attachments come as standard: a flat beater for batters, a wire whisk for cream and meringue, and a dough hook for soft doughs.
A planetary will mix light bread and pizza dough at small batch sizes, but the motor and the gearing are not designed to develop heavy bread doughs day after day. Use a planetary if you make cakes, pastry, biscuit doughs and the occasional small bread batch. Use a spiral if bread and pizza are the main job.
Fork mixer
A fork mixer uses a slow, gentle fork shaped agitator and a rotating bowl. The action mimics traditional hand kneading and keeps dough temperatures very low, which suits long fermentation breads, sourdough and high hydration ciabatta and focaccia. Fork mixers are the choice of artisan bakeries and serious pizza operators making Neapolitan style dough.
The trade off is that mix times are longer and capacity per machine is lower than a comparable spiral.
Horizontal mixer
A horizontal mixer holds the dough in a long, U shaped trough with a horizontal agitator running through it. These machines are built for high volume industrial production, often paired with automatic flour and water dosing. Most independent bakeries do not need a horizontal; they make sense at scale, where one machine produces 100 kg or more in a single batch and feeds an automated divider downstream.
What size dough mixer do you need?
Bowl capacity in litres is not the same as the kilograms of dough the machine can handle. The usable batch size depends on hydration (the ratio of water to flour) and on the manufacturer’s rated capacity. As a rule of thumb, a spiral mixer will produce a dough batch around 60 to 70 percent of the bowl litres in kilograms, on a standard bread or pizza recipe.
| Bowl capacity | Typical dough output | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| 10 litres | 4-5 kg | Small café, low volume pizza prep |
| 18-22 litres | 8-12 kg | Independent pizzeria (40-60 covers), small bakery |
| 30-40 litres | 18-25 kg | Busy pizzeria (80-150 covers), sandwich bakery |
| 50-60 litres | 30-40 kg | Production bakery, multi-site pizza chain |
| 80-120 litres | 50-80 kg | Wholesale bakery, large hotel or contract caterer |
For pizza, a useful planning number is 250-280 g of dough per 12 inch base. A 25 kg batch from a 40 litre spiral therefore gives you around 90 to 100 pizzas worth of dough per mix, which suits a busy lunch and dinner service. If you are running 200 covers a night, plan for two mixes or a larger machine.
For a wider view of the prep stages around mixing, the dough preparation equipment section covers mixers, rollers, dividers and provers in one place.
Key features to compare
Bowl size sets the headline number, but the difference between a cheap mixer and one that lasts ten years sits in the detail.
- Motor power and duty cycle. Look for a continuously rated motor, not a peak figure. A 1.5 kW motor on a 22 litre spiral is normal; anything below that on a bread-focused mixer will struggle on long mixes.
- Speed settings. A two speed spiral covers most bakery and pizza work. A planetary should have at least three speeds, or a variable speed dial.
- Bowl material. Stainless steel as standard. A removable bowl makes cleaning and dough transfer much easier on busy services.
- Safety guard. A polycarbonate or stainless guard with a safety cut out switch is mandatory on UK commercial models. Check that lifting the guard stops the agitator immediately.
- Reverse function. Useful on spiral mixers to incorporate dry flour at the start without flour clouds.
- Timer. A digital timer with auto stop saves you babysitting the mix and gives you repeatable batches.
- Castors. Floor standing mixers above 30 litres should have lockable castors so you can move them for cleaning.
A spiral with a removable bowl is worth paying for if you produce more than one dough type per day, because you can pull the full bowl off, prove it, and start the next batch without waiting.
Spiral vs planetary mixer, which is better?
The honest answer is that neither is “better”; they are designed for different jobs. The table below compares the two on the metrics that decide most kitchens.
| Factor | Spiral mixer | Planetary mixer |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Bread, pizza, ciabatta, focaccia | Cakes, batters, pastry, biscuit dough, light bread |
| Bowl movement | Bowl rotates, hook fixed | Bowl fixed, attachment orbits |
| Heat build up in dough | Low | Higher on long mixes |
| Gluten development | Excellent | Good on light doughs only |
| Multi function | One job (kneading) | Three jobs (beat, whisk, knead) |
| Typical bowl size | 18-120 litres | 5-80 litres |
| Cost (entry pro) | £1,400-£3,500 | £900-£3,000 |
If you make bread or pizza dough as a main product, choose a spiral. If you make cakes, pastry, choux and the occasional small bread batch, choose a planetary. Production bakeries often run both, with the spiral on bread and the planetary on the patisserie bench.
How much does a commercial dough mixer cost?
Prices vary with bowl size, brand, motor specification and whether the bowl is removable. The bands below cover what you should expect to pay in the UK in 2026.
- Entry, £900 to £1,800. Compact 10-22 litre spiral or planetary mixers, single phase, fixed bowl. Suits small cafés, takeaway pizzerias and start up bakeries.
- Mid, £1,800 to £4,500. 30-50 litre spirals, two speed motors, often with timers and reverse. The standard for busy independent pizzerias and small production bakeries.
- Pro, £4,500 to £12,000+. Floor standing 60-120 litre spirals, three phase, removable bowls, programmable controls. Suits multi site operators and wholesale bakeries.
Finance is available on most mid and pro models, which spreads the spend over three to five years and is worth running past your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
What size mixer do I need for pizza dough?
For most pizzerias, an 18 to 22 litre spiral covers a 40 to 60 cover service comfortably, producing around 8 to 12 kg of dough per batch. Move to a 30 or 40 litre spiral once you cross 80 covers per service, or if you run lunch and dinner shifts back to back. Step up again to a 50 or 60 litre spiral above 150 covers.
How many kg of dough can a 20 litre mixer make?
A 20 litre spiral mixer typically handles a 10 to 12 kg dough batch on a standard 60 to 65 percent hydration pizza recipe. Higher hydration doughs cap the batch slightly lower, around 9 to 10 kg, because wet dough takes more torque. Always work to the manufacturer’s rated capacity for the recipe type, not the raw bowl litres.
Can I mix bread dough in a planetary mixer?
You can mix small batches of light bread dough in a planetary mixer with the dough hook attached, but the planetary action is not built for daily heavy bread or pizza work. The motor and gears wear faster and the dough develops less evenly. If bread or pizza is a regular product, invest in a spiral mixer.
What is the difference between a spiral and planetary mixer?
A spiral mixer has a rotating bowl and a fixed spiral hook, designed for kneading bread and pizza doughs evenly without heating them up. A planetary mixer has a fixed bowl and an orbiting attachment, designed for cakes, batters and pastry, with a dough hook option for light doughs. Spirals are specialists; planetaries are multi taskers.
How long do commercial dough mixers last?
A well specified commercial spiral or planetary mixer, used inside its rated capacity and serviced annually, will last 8 to 15 years in regular bakery service. Common wear parts are the drive belt, the bowl bearing and the safety microswitch on the guard. Buying from a brand with UK parts stock keeps downtime short when something does need replacing.
Shop dough mixers at H2
H2 stocks spiral and planetary mixers from 10 litres to 120 litres, alongside dough rollers and commercial ovens for the full pizzeria and bakery line. Browse the commercial dough mixers range by bowl size, mixer type and price, or call the team for help matching a machine to your batch sizes and service volume.
