Hi all,
I've read all the threads I could find and couldn't find an answer to my question. I hope it's not a repeat. This a question for professional bakers.
I run the kitchen at a seasonal business (spring through fall) but I am not a professionally trained chef. One of the most popular items we sell is large homemade cookies - we sell several hundred on fall weekends. After abusing Kitchenaid home mixers (we destroyed two last year) and having to churn out batch after batch, we finally purchased a used 20-quart Hobart mixer.
I'm in the process of scaling up our recipes and I know we'll need to begin weighing flour and sugars instead of using measuring cups (I was going to do this anyway because there's too much variation from batch to batch). The question is, what kind of scale do we need? Can you recommend a brand/model?
I called my contact at our restaurant supply store and she told me most bakeries use mechanical scales rather than digital scales. She thought a digital scale wouldn't withstand our amount of use. Is that true?
Bear in mind, we don't do breads or anything like that -- just cookies. The owner is exploring getting some kind of an automated donut maker, but generally we're not looking to become a "real" bakery. Also, nobody who works for us is a trained professional -- in fact, there are times that teeenagers are making the dough -- so whatever we get has to be easy to use.
Many thanks for your advice.
