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Stand mixers

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Seeing as a number of you enjoy baking, I thought I'd solicit your advice on stand mixers. If you purchased a stand mixer, have you used it enough to justify the expense? Or do you think a hand mixer and bowl would have sufficed?

I like to bake (low carb) desserts (tarts, cakes, mousses, macarons), but don't make bread or pizza crust. I'm toying with idea of purchasing the Kitchen Aid mini stand mixer, but am aware that stand mixers often gather dust in people's homes. Have you used yours as often as you anticipated? Or do you consider it more of a luxury baking tool than a necessity?

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35 replies

Latest reply was from Glory

rachylou

Veteran

I have a Kitchen Aid Artisan, and think it was worth it. I will say it's not meant for really heavy use - plastic gears. But we have one at the bakery that lasted for several years, which is pretty good. A hand mixer is really not the same at all. I've abandoned mine. As far as I'm concerned, a hand mixer is not much different from hand whisking.

Saw the mini at Target yesterday for the first time... Seems really small to me...

Anonymous

I have a KitchenAid commercial 5-qt. stand mixer, and it has been a real workhorse in my kitchen. Mine doesn't have plastic gears. I checked before buying it.

Kim

Veteran

A good stand mixer (mine is a Kitchenaid ) will probably last you for the rest of your life. You might not use it often but you'll never question whether it's big enough for the job that you are attempting.

Diana

Veteran

We have a 5 quart KitchenAid artisan. Ours is pretty old (I think almost 15 years, my husband owned it for years before we got married) and starting to show its age but I think it's definitely worth it. We don't actually bake that often but it is invaluable for certain things (especially kneading dough and beating egg whites).

If I were to buy one today? I'd get the professional instead of the artisan. It has a heavier motor and all-metal construction. This is better for heavy duty stuff like kneading bread. Our artisan is definitely starting to show it's age - it has started wobbling a lot when mixing heavy things like dough (which means I have to keep a hand on the head when it's kneading so it doesn't walk away across the counter). But like I said, it's 15 years old, so I think it's had a good run of it.

I saw the mini one at Target the other day. I would not get a mini one. It was the same price as the 5 qt artisan and has a smaller motor and I do not think it would work for heavy duty things. If you're worried about being able to make small batches of things, I make 1/2 recipes of things in the 5 qt all the time with no problem. I think there's a smaller (shorter) bowl you can buy for the 5 and 6 qt mixers as well.

ETA: If I didn't have it, I would probably never bake any bread that requires kneading, anything that requires creaming butter + sugar, or anything that requires beating egg whites. I am lazy plus it is hell on my bad wrists to do those things by hand or even a hand mixer.

Sal

Veteran

I have a Kitchen Aid - I think the Artisan.

I used to have a hand mixer. The stand mixer means you can leave the ingredients beating while you do other tasks (measuring, chopping or cleaning up) - so it makes it much easier. It is much better for whipping egg whites than my old hand mixer.

I keep mine out all the time, they are heavy beasts to get in and out of the cupboard. I did overload it with too much bread dough one day and needed to get a replacement gear.

JAileen

Veteran

I have a KitchenAid Pro 6. I think I got it in 2000 or maybe 2001 after we did our kitchen remodel. I used to make bread all the time and let it knead the dough. I had to make sure it didn't walk off the counter. I rarely make bread anymore, but I do use it often enough that I don't regret getting it. As Diana said, it's great for creaming butter and sugar, so making cookies or cakes is easy. I should get back in the habit of making bread, now that I think of it.

I don't use it for pie crust, though, I use my Cuisinart which I've had for almost 37 years.

SandyG

Veteran

My KitchenAid stand mixer is nearly 30 years old and with only one repair when I overloaded it with a sticky cookie dough. A friend is using it this fall for her new baking business and loves it as much as me. I'll get it back for holiday baking, which is my major cooking/baking gig. Similar used models on Craigslist start at $100. Worth every penny! Check restaurant supply stores and online sales. Don't get one that's too small because it's too limiting.

carter

Veteran

Here's a picture of mine;-). The ceiling is 11'. Even with my step ladder, I can't reach the mixer. I'd have to go get the tall ladder from the basement in order to reach it. That's my breadmaker just below it. I can reach that with the step stool, and I haven't made bread in at least 2 years;-)

Here's the caveat: I've never been a baker. The mixer was a hand-me-down from someone who bought it purely for kitchen decoration. I do love my hand mixer and immersion blender for potatoes, soups, etc. However, most of the desserts I make these days (paleo/grain-free) are completely handled by a professional grade food processor.

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rachylou

Veteran

I'll add I make bread doughs in the Artisan. It's just not really a daily use thing for bread dough...

MTBGirl

Veteran

I have the Kitchenaid Ultra Power. (is that between the artisan and the pro?) I love it and have had it for 25 years or more. Still going strong and I have added accessories and a lovely zip cover. I consider it a necessity and it has more than justified its price.

anne

Veteran

I have a Kenwood Patissier food mixer and I love it. Has 3 attachments; a standard beater, whisk and a dough hook. It was a gift from my generous MIL, and I wouldn't have bought it, as I had an old hand held electric beater and at the same Christmas, a new food processor that did have a whisk attachment (I've never used it).

But I'm glad I have it, as it is so powerful and durable. It is all metal as far as I can tell and as Sally said, great to have a stand mixer you can leave alone. The food processor is now (maybe 10 years later)on it's last legs due to bits breaking (I have to stick a knife into it to make it work) - and it was itself a replacemnt for an earlier food processor. The Kenwood by contrast is as good as when I first got it.

Anonymous

I'm chiming back in to say that my 18-year-old commercial 5-qt. Kitchenaid stand mixer still works great. I bought a new one so that I could give the old one to my DD. I have put my stand mixer through its paces, kneading bread and pizza dough, making cookie dough, etc. Like I said, it's a real workhorse.

columbine(erin)

Veteran

I have a cobalt kitchen aid on my counter and use it two or three times a week for baking. Pie crusts, whipping cream, meringue, cookies, bread, mashed potatoes, etc. It was a wedding gift and I'm deeply attached to this thing.:)

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I've had a kitchen aid mixer for many, many years. I only use it rarely, so it lives in a cupboard. But I like having it for when I need it (whipped cream, chocolate chip cookies)

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Mine lives on the counter and it's always working. When it's not actively mixing something, its job is to look decorative. It's a lovely apple green and makes me smile every time I see/use it. Definitely worth the money.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I have a Kitchen Aid and I love it. I use it every time I bake. It is absolutely worth the money.

SW Ann

Veteran

I have a 15 year old kitchenaid pro. It transformed my baking experience. I liked to bake before I got this, but now I really love it. I think that if it ever breaks and can't be fixed easily (We are very "repair people poor" here) I would just have to replace it immediately. It has been worth every penny I spent for it ...

Staysfit

Veteran

I have a Kitchenaid Pro 6. I bake a lot- bread, cookies, muffins, pie, cake, etc. The Kitchenaid Pro is large and heavy. It is too large for small batch cooking. I love it but would say it isn't something to purchase unless you know what you are doing, and are going to use it regularly. I have had mine for maybe 25 years? It is tall and unless your cabinets are set high, it may not easily fit underneath.

When I am not doing large batches, I use my Cuisinart Custom 14. I love it for bread dough. You have to know what you're doing because the dough can overheat so you need a thermometer. It's tricky with sourdough which can be finicky. However, in my experience, it yields the best results. I use the blade attachments not the dough hooks. The Cuisinart was a wedding gift, so it's durable, mine is almost 29 years old, and is the most used appliance in my kitchen. I use it for small batch cookie dough too.

Joyce B

Veteran

I have the KitchenAid 6 quart, I think Pro. It is good for kneading bread and for mixing most things you would bake in your home. It has a big bowl but be careful, it is really not meant to be filled more than maybe a bit less than halfway at the most. I had a chance to see different mixers being used at a top bakery and none of them were filled past 1/3 of the bowl. Rachy can correct me if it can be done differently but this is what I saw.
Before my current KitchenAid I had a 4 quart KitchenAid that I killed with a large batch of heavy cookies. My cheap hand mixer was able to handle the heavy dough, the stand mixer was not.
I continued using my hand mixer for several years until I found the 6 quart KitchenAid and bought it. It has been great for my holiday breads.
I agree with the previous comment that a KitchenAid mini may be too small, particularly considering that you cannot fill the bowl when you use it.

rachylou

Veteran

If you go past that ~1/3 mark, you can't use the higher speeds on your mixer. Not even, as noted, an industrial one. We fill up to the rim at the bakery and never go to speed 4 on our 4-speed floor mixers. Paddle could even snap.

True about bowl volume, mixing speed and heat. It's interesting what they do in production settings. We use ice and $80K chillers for set water temps to compensate for the heat generated during mixing. Large places regulate the temps of the ingredients too before they go in the bowl. The bowl itself may even be chilled.

Joyce B

Veteran

Thank you, Rachy for the additional info. I killed my previous KitchenAid with a large batch of cookies at high speed. Now I mostly bake bread but I knead it at low speed.
The other thing about filling the bowl is that once you start mixing it can easily spill over, more at high speed but also at low speed.

Gail

Veteran

Kitchen Aid Artisan , Lives on the counter I use it all the time, it's at least 15 years old and I would not be with out it EVER.

Anonymous

There is a manual. It pays to read it.

It tells you the flour capacity, and also tells you what each speed is for.

rachylou

Veteran

Betty, you're so funny! The first thing I was taught in tech writing school was 'No one reads the manual.' Lolol

Lucy

Veteran

My Breville is now 22 years old.
I don't bake much - no one in my family likes baked goods (!!) and so if I make them I eat them. And I'm coeliac now, and I don't really like GF baking.
So I tend to only bake a few times a year, but when I do, it makes such a good job of it - fast and efficient and really easy. I would replace it, even though it doesn't get a lot of use, because it is so nice when I do! I also use it to make chocolate mousse and a few things like that, works a treat.

Joyce B

Veteran

For me it was not a matter of not having read the manual, I obviously read it and checked the capacity. The problem was being in a rush to put out a double batch of cookies, particularly considering that my hand mixer or/and my Danish dough rod would have done the job fairly easily. All this points to getting the right size so that you can mix a larger batch and are not limited by the size of your stand mixer. It is a larger evestment than your hand mixer and you need to know that it will do the job with no problems.

Anonymous

I taught myself to make bread by reading the KitchenAid manual and using some of the recipes that were in there. I have since learned a lot more, but that manual is very good. Some manuals aren't worth the paper they're printed on, but KitchenAid does a great job with its manuals.

jenanded

Veteran

I have managed 27 years of marriage and 3 children with my nana's hand me down hand mixer. In the past 12 hours I realised I 'needed' a cobalt blue kitchen aid on my bench. I just got home from work and baked a cake....
My name is Jen and I like shiny things....

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Ok, I took the plunge! I visited my local kitchen store to check out the different sizes, thinking that I would get the 5 quart model. Once at the store, after speaking with the chefs there, I realized that the 3.5 quart model was better suited for my needs. No complaints about the price--I was able to get it on sale, with an additional discount. Pretty excited for its arrival tomorrow!

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