Kitchenaid mixer

I’ve had mine for years and years. I gave it to my daughter and bought a rebuilt one from Mr Mixer. Same everything as my old one and works exactly the same. I can do a double batch of bagel dough using Wild Yeast’s blog recipe  with no problem at all. I’ve never had a moments problem with any wet, stiff , or otherwise large amount of bread or cookie dough. My challah recipe uses 7 c of flour 3 eggs etc and it cleans the bowl perfectly every time. 

I have read lots of disparaging remarks on here about KA mixers. All I can say is the old ones and rebuilt ones are definitely Pro as their name says . Contact Mr Mixer and see what he has in stock. The 6 qt pro with warranty is $250 I believe! Great price and a fantastic guy. c

Wattage is, for the most part, meaningless, and isn't really related to the ability to mix/knead.  What matters are rpms and torque, but KA does not supply these numbers, and for a good reason - they would just confuse most users. 

What you need to know is that tilt-head mixers are on a weaker side and aren't great for bread applications, and bowl-lift models will all get the job done.  Of those I would recommend Costco/Sams model, simply because it can be had for so much less, particularly when on sale.  However, in terms of quality the popular (unsubstantiated) opinion is that models equipped with DC motors are better, and the NSF-rated one, distinguished by its orange power cord, is a beast.

Watts and HP are the same thing: power.  Watts are a metric unit of measure.  HP is horsepower or an imperial (English) unit of measure. 

More power = more ability to work dough.  More Watts means more electrical current consumed by the motor.  More current means more torque is being supplied by the motor.  More torque, at a given speed, means more work is being put into the dough. 

Power is one of the principal things to look for.  Agree on the bowl lift.  If an NSF mixer has high wattage or horsepower, it definitely would be a beast compared to lower wattage or lower power units. 

https://youtu.be/8JlaTO_2zh8

https://youtu.be/F5mBOGte5Zo

I would add that transmission is also an important consideration. All that power applied to flimsy gears will not produce the performance you need. That, however, is much more difficult to assess from specifications. Torque will be dependent on the gear ratio in the transmission. We had lab mixers that had high torque/low speed or low torque/high speed settings that could be selected depending on the viscosity of the material that needed to be mixed.

I don't have any experience with KA mixers, so I can't speak directly gear quality. Maybe others can answer that aspect of KA mixers.

OK, I watched this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JlaTO_2zh8   about top picks for inexpensive stand mixers. It included the Bosch Compact Mixer which I have owned for about 5 years and used weekly.

I don’t think the Bosch Compact Mixer is available any more, but I was shocked that America’s Test Kitchen implied that because it weighs only 7 pounds that it would walk all over the counter. They also said you couldn’t operate it without having the blue splash shield in place. Both of those statements are totally false.

I never used the blue splash guard and the mixer definitely worked without it—and the suction cups on the mixer kept it from walking on the counter. It is actually a good mixer for making bread. I expected a more accurate and truthful evaluation from America’s Test Kitchen. This didn’t seem like an objective opinion, and I wonder if their other reviews are as far off as this one was?????

My review above did speak to the gear stability/ longevity when I referenced making double batches of stiff bagel dough . It’s still going strong and it’s 20 yrs old or so. I bought a rebuilt one from Mr. Mixer for the reason I mention above… personal references from customers. I gave mine to my daughter who uses it for her family of 5 as did I. 

If you want metal gearing and tried and true heavy duty mechanics do not purchase a newly made machine. I am truly impressed with the KA and with the reliability of both the older models and the genuine honesty of Mr Mixer and his business. Here’s the whole Google search. Good Luck. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=mr+mixer&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS676US676&hl=en-US&ei=rdC4ZJarGMXk5NoPmO-vmAM&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zLA0KcpJK64yYLRSNaiwME9KTLNMMkgzt7RITDFPsjKoMDFPTrRMTjNNtTRNMzGyNPDiyC1SyM2sSC0CAF_LExI&oq=Mr+Mixer&gs_lp=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&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

The inexpensive Artisan mixers are under powered unless you are only baking cakes.  I had one and it would not handle bread dough.  I bought a KA Pro 610 model and have not looked back.  It works flawlessly for all my baking needs.  I see that the price has gone up considerably since I bought mine.

Note that Kitchenaid now recommends total mixing and kneading time be limited to no more than 4 - 6 minutes:

Kneading Times and Speeds - Stand Mixer - Product Help | KitchenAid