I never thought that I would say it, but if you are a bread maker DO NOT buy a Kitchen Aid Mixer if you are only going to use one mixer in your house.
Now that it’s out in the open, let me explain. I have had a Kitchen Aid mixer for 30+ years. I always highly recommend them. I know they aren’t as good as they once were when Hobart was making them. I adored my 30 quart Hobart mixer at the bakery and it’s probably the one thing that I really wish I hadn’t sold. I even have bought family members Kitchen Aid mixers when they got married because it’s the one thing I always said I couldn’t live without in my kitchen. In fact, when my Kitchen Aid went out in the early 2011-2013 timeframe, I immediately went and bought a new one. That’s the one I still have to this day.
Well, now that I have been doing fresh-milled flour for a little while, I can tell you that for bread makers it’s just not the best option out there. I’m not really sure why it took me that long to come to that conclusion. The fact that they always get hot trying to do bread should have been my first clue.
My Kitchen Aid is old and I really need to do some work on it. I think the gear box needs to be replaced since it doesn’t always start on the first attempt. So, for a while I have been on the hunt for a new mixer. It wasn’t a high priority since I can usually get mine to go. But, I knew it was inevitable that I would need a new one or at very least need to do some rehab to this one. I had been looking at the Kitchen Aid Professional mixers, but those are running in the $900 range currently as a I write this.
I have made all the things in my Kitchen Aid over the years. Cookies, muffins, breads, pies, and it always did a great job…or so I thought. I thought I would get an Ooni spiral mixer since that is suppose to be great with bread. Bread was the one thing I knew my Kitchen Aid struggled with. It was always take forever to knead and I ready mentioned the fact that it would get hot. I thought that if I had something that was excellent for bread, I could continue to use my Kitchen Aid for the other things I love to make.
I did all the research. I read reviews and watched YouTube videos. I had the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer in my cart and almost hit submit when I paused and did one more YouTube search for reviews. I stumbled upon a reviewer who had so many issues with the breaker bar because of the material it was made of. I think the newness of the mixer and it being made in China was what my hesitation was all about. I ultimately decided to give the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral a little more time to see how it held up long term. I still think that I would like to get my hands on one eventually. I absolutely adore my Ooni outdoor pizza oven!
So, back to the research phase I went. I read reviews and watched more YouTube videos. I was between two mixers, the Bosch Universal Plus and the Ankarsrum. I did not think I would like the center column in the Bosch at all, but with the bottom drive bowl being an option I thought maybe. I honestly was leaning toward the Ankarsrum, but the learning curve and how different it is compared to my Kitchen Aid once again scared me. So, once again, I put the decision on pause.
One morning I saw a Bosch Universal Plus mixer for sale for an insanely low price. Someone had tried to pry the bowl off the base so it had marks on it, but was completely functional and really wasn’t noticeable with the mixing bowl attached. I saw this as my opportunity to give it a try without having to invest the price of a new one. So, I bit the bullet and bought it. I figured that if I hated it I could always sell it and buy the Ankarsrum or eventually buy the Ankarsrum as well.
The Bosch Universal Plus arrived and I put it to work on my bread doughs only. I continued to use my Kitchen Aid for other things. But, that first batch of bread in the Bosch made me realize how pour of a job my Kitchen Aid had really been doing in bread all these years! The Bosch took 7-8 minutes to knead bread where the Kitchen Aid would take 25+ minutes and not do nearly as good of a job. Biting into my first sandwich loaf slice using the Bosch and it not crumbling all over the place! That was a huge revelation since the only change was what mixer that I used to make the bread and it even took less time to knead! I was in shock.
So, if you are an avid bread maker I would highly recommend the Bosch Universal Plus and steer you away from the Kitchen Aid. The Bosch Universal Plus is a beast. I have since made cookies in it and it does struggle with the initial mixing when you only have a couple ingredients in the mixer. For example, it took me longer to cream my butter and sugar in the Bosch simply because it was less than I think it could handle. I need to attempt a double batch in it to see how it handles it especially since I freeze cookie dough balls to make fresh anyway. It didn’t have any issues with a single loaf of bread though so it must be a minimum amount it can handle. Maybe the NurtriMill Artiste Mixer would do a better job on small jobs. I know a lot of people are raving about the Zacme 8.4 qt mixer as well.
I still would like to try the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral and the Ankarsrum. I mean, if either company would like to send me those I would be happy to put them to the test. 😜. But those are my thoughts on the two I currently own for now. If I add the others, I’ll make sure to post and tell you all about it.
