I have seen this at a local govt auction. If anyone knows how this thing works, ir has one, could you let me know? That would be AWESOME! Maybe George mills?
I am thinking of starting to make my own dough, I would only require doing small batches, so thinking this might be the perfect thing if the price ends up right.
With the dough blade it works awesome.
Ive been in shops that use these and there are cheese blades with a hook/handle that goes into the top and you turn and process for cheese, then you take it out and put in a dough blade (dull and smaller than cheese blade) and let the mixer roll the dough.
It works great, very noisy but on the cheap I would do it.
I wouldnt use it for things like onions/peppers etc, but it also works great to chop sausage and beef.
edit) looks like you can get one reasonably new for less than 2k on ebay and if the VCM you are looking at is missing parts you can also get those parts via Ebay.
I use one for cheese and sauce but do not use it for dough. In our experience, the finished product comes out tougher. You have to chill the water because of the heat generation when mixing and maybe add more water so that the dough is easier to work with. Maybe you can make it work for “your” product. I know someone from a chain posts on here that uses them in all the stores.
Imo, the vertical mixer is not “optimum” but you can make it work for “your” application.
For over 14 years, it’s the only thing I’ve used. I have Hobart HCM-450s in both stores (similar to VCMs but much more attractive) and use them for chopping cheese, making dough, and mixing sauce.
While it’s true the dough does warm up a bit during the mixing process, I’ve never had a problem chilling it down and controlling it in the walk in.
I’ve never used the big 60 qt units, and frankly don’t care to.
From the picture it looks like a 25-quart capacity VCM. They are made by Stephan, a German company for Hobart, and Hobart still provides parts and service. There are a numberr of different mixing attachments, but the ones used most frequently by pizzerias is the dough mixing attachment, which looks sometyhing like an inverted “T” and is dull. the other one is a sharp, curved blade used for cutting. This attachment works well for cutting cheese.
Look for dough mixing times to be in the 60 to 75-second range. NOTE: Due to the short mixing time, use compressed yeast if you can. If you use ADY or IDY both of them MUST be hydrated before addition to the bowl. Yes, in this one, specific case, the IDY must be prehydrated. If you must prehydrate the IDY, be sure to use the manufacturers recommended 95F water temperature for rehydration.
The VCM’s sell for $2,000.00 to $2,500.00 for reocnditioned units at the shows.
They’re direct drive, so there really isn’t all that much to go wrong with them.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Hi Canukfanlady:
We service a great many chains and independents. None of our chain accounts and virtually none of our independents use VCM units for mixing dough.
The VCM is great for shredding cheese and chopping up vegetables but our clients find it to fast for dough and say it produces cardboard like pizza crusts.
I think Little Caesars is the only major chain using VCM units for making dough.
Just what our clients tell us others may differ.
George Mills
Thanx so much everyone! I would like to chop my own cheese as well, so it may be a unit i can use either way. I do not like the idea of having a tough dough though. I have an excellent dough I use right now, and it is soft and fabulous. The problem is that I get a baker to make it for me and it is putting my costs through the roof. It really sux.
I may just have to go the proper route and get a proper mixer. We will see what I can get this unit for. I mean if I can get it for 5-600 it would be worth it just for chopping cheese, mixing sauce, etc. So we will see.
Again thanx, and expect to hear from me soon. I have NEVER made dough for my restaurant before and have no idea how to even go about it. So I will be having a shout out of HELP very soon, lol
Thanx muchly!
With regard to dough mixing, we have found as the dough is mixed to a greater level of gluten development, the crumb structure of the finished crust becomes more bread like. Since the VCM has such a high mixing speed, 1750 RPM, it is more than just a little easy to over mix the dough. I think this is where the VCM gets it’s bad rap as a dough mixer. If you are careful, and mix the dough just until; it comes together, you can duplicate the same mix that you get in a planteary mixer in a lot less time, but do be advised that the dough may feel a little tacky. don’t let this worry you, and by all means, don’t reduct the water trying to eliminate it. The tacky feeling will disappear soon after the dough is removed from the mixing bowl since it is related to flour hydration more than anything else. At the same time, if you fall asleep at the switch, and let the dough over mix, it will come off of the mixer looking and feeling more like well chewed bubble gum than pizza dough, and things won’t get any better with time. Here is my own little trick; Go to Walmart and buy a cheap, battery operated, wall mount clock with a bold, sweep second hand. Install it on qa wall where it can be easily seen from the mixer. Watch the position of the second hand when you start the mixer, and mix for 60-seconds, check the dough, mix longer in 5 or 10-second increments until the dough is judged correctly mixed (remember, it is better to error on the under mixed side). Normal mixing time will probably be around 75-seconds.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
If you have a good following now, you need to make sure your dough does not change much from the current recipe…If it does, you may lose some of your gains…Good luck…
When changing the dough formulation or handling, I would suggest sampling it out to people to sort of “inoculate” them to the change. Get them used to it and get their feedback on what they like and don’t like. Then it isn’t a shock to either of you. Get buy-in by telling them you are working to improve your dough and reduce their costs at the same time . . . without sacrificing quality . . . and it takes teamwork.
wow, the only one i ever saw was this one by robt coupe:
http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/images/products/R-45-T_lg.jpg
and because I wanted to dice my cheese instead of shredding it, i was all about getting one until i saw the price tag.
I did know it could mix dough, but had no idea it was that fast!
i’m going back to ebay to look at some older models. THANKS ALL!
It is a pretty cool machine. FAST. But too fast in my book for dough. Adds a lot of heat to the dough. I like the slower control of a Hobart better.
They’re essentially one and the same. The Stephan/Hobart VCM has been around since the early 70’s. They’re also available industrial sized to handle up to 300-pounds of flour. These sizes are oriented horizontally rather than vertically and in the industry they’re referred to ascontinuous batch mixers.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
I meant a regular Hobart mixer, not a VCM.
I am now a proud owner of a VCM!! And for 400 bucks its worth a shot!
Wait for my HELP post when i get the dough wand for it! Lol
Do you have 3 phase electricity available at your shop? These machines all run on 3 phase, most on 200-240 volts, some on 400-480 volts.
I doubt you want to use it to grind your cheese. Being a take and bake, you’ll get a much better presentation from shredded cheese. From the pictures, it looked like the stirring arm was missing so you’ll need this to grind cheese. It’ll cost you nearly as much as you paid for the machine, as they are hard to find.
Actually the stiring arm is there, I just saw the pictures on the bottom of the page. Looks like it has a cutting blade, but I did not see a dough blade. Here’s one on ebay but if you’re patient you’ll find one a whole lot cheaper.
http://cgi.ebay.com/VCM-40-Dough-Mixer- … 286.c0.m14
yup electrical is fine. Arm is there. It doesnt have dough blade and im patient, lol. Thanx Paul!