Choosing the Best KitchenAid Mixer for Baking Needs

[Daisey]

I am debating between the kitchenaid 600 proline and kitchenaid 10 quart commercial. I make tons of cookies at Christmas. I also make yeast doughs regularly. My current mixers are the 550 pro plus (starting to smell hot and shutting down on doughs) and an Artisan (it came with my hubby when I married him 4 years ago).

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I am debating between the kitchenaid 600 proline and kitchenaid 10 quart commercial. I make tons of cookies at Christmas. I also make yeast doughs regularly. My current mixers are the 550 pro plus (starting to smell hot and shutting down on doughs) and an Artisan (it came with my hubby when I married him 4 years ago).

When considering a mixer, you have to select based on the type of doughs. are two types of mixers: planetary and spiral. They are completely different style of mixers, and they’re designed for completely different types of doughs.

A planetary mixer has a single motor and stationary bowl. The single motor rotates the mixer in one directions above the mixer bowl. The mixer arm is moved with a gear. Planetary mixers are suited for pastry applications: cake and cupcake batters; whipping meringues; mixing buttercreams; beating pate a choux. Since it uses force (torque), resistance from heavy doughs like cookie, brioche, and bread not only generate a lot of friction heat in the doughs, but over time damage and strip the gear in the motor.

A spiral mix has dual motors, one to rotate the bowl, and a pulley system to operate the spiral arm that operates the mixer.

A planetary mixer is not the best choice if you frequently and primarily make heavy yeast dough. Planetary mixers are not designed for yeast doughs as the bowl is stationary with just the mixer head rotating. The dough wraps around the dough hook. The mixer head then drags the dough against the inside of the bowl. This does not knead the dough. It only drags it against the bowl, causing friction heat. The friction heat raises the dough temperature, knocking it out of Desired Dough Temperature, and damages the yeast. And for most KitchenAids, repeated mixing of heavy doughs damages the gear.

A spiral mixer rotates both the bowl and spiral arm. With both moving, it reduces drag, so less heat is generated. The chain pulley system doesn’t get stripped like the gear on the planetary mixers. A good spiral mixer also has a center post to keep the dough from climbing up the spiral arm.

The drawbacks is a good spiral mixer is expensive. And some are designed for dough only; some do not have a removable bowl.

The three that are heavy duty enough to for your needs are:
Ankarsrum
Hausssler Alpha
Famag Grilletta - dough only

Best Stand Mixers: Ankarsrum, Famag, Bosch, Haussler & WonderMix brands

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In this video you can see how the dough in a spiral doesn’t climb in a spiral mixer with a center post. The mixer attachment actually kneads the dough, unlike a KitchenAid where the dough just gets wrapped around the dough hook and gets scrapped against the side of the bowl.

 

[Linus]

Ever since Whirlpool took over making the KA line of mixers, I've stopped buying them. They began using cheap inferior parts to make them!! Many consumers have complained about that, saying that Kitchenaid is not like what they used to be when Hobart was making them, & have begun to look at other cos' for a mixer. I prefer the Globe machines.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Ever since Whirlpool took over making the KA line of mixers, I've stopped buying them. They began using cheap inferior parts to make them!! Many consumers have complained about that, saying that Kitchenaid is not like what they used to be when Hobart was making them, & have begun to look at other cos' for a mixer. I prefer the Globe machines.

you know @Linus I thought that too. Because I’ve been using KitchenAid‘s for years. And I got an old one that’s like 20 years old or maybe 22 now I guess. And I have a newer one. And I swear my older one is by far superior. Then I saw this mechanical engineer on YouTube who does tears downs and analyzes as he tears down whatever it is. So he did a teardown on a KitchenAid. And even he was impressed at how heavy duty the KitchenAid was made. there were a couple of things he said he wished were a little more heavy duty. But overall he said they went above and beyond what was required.

I am more than ever certain the major problem with the KitchenAid is people using them to mix heavy doughs. The planetary mixer is just not designed for heavy dough. You got to go with the spiral mixer for that. By the way I think I’ve read on a thread that you bought a spiral? What did you get?

 

[retired baker]

I am debating between the kitchenaid 600 proline and kitchenaid 10 quart commercial. I make tons of cookies at Christmas. I also make yeast doughs regularly. My current mixers are the 550 pro plus (starting to smell hot and shutting down on doughs) and an Artisan (it came with my hubby when I married him 4 years ago).

20 qt hobart will do everything you want, there are used ones if you look around.

 

[Linus]