[the_only_me]

Ok i'm saving up for a kitchen aid mixer and I am just wandering are they worth it or should I just get a cheaper stand mixer? If this helps I dont nead bread I just mix cake of very thick consistencies!!!!please help

[jessiquina]

i LOVE my KitchenAid! i would recommend the 5 quart version. i find that the 6qt bowl is a lil too big for the home cook. not only are they gorgeous, but they are sturdy, reliable, easy to use... basically, my KitchenAid is my reason for living. .....

... they have attachments now for freezing ice cream, making pasta, grinding meats for homemade sausage. they are well worth the price. .. i've only seen one KitchenAid death so far, and this poor mixer was abused at work and was not for a professional kitchen.... have i convinced you yet?

[tessa]

Kitchen aids are the best on the market IMO they are sexy grunty workhorses and these days you can get them in different colours
i would definatly buy one , if i didnt already have 2 almost as great mixers. totally worth the $$$ss

[foodpump]

Don't get a cheap stand mixer. This is common advice for any tool--be it a power tool, or mechanic's tools, or kitchen equipment--if you want to use it more than once.

[gwynedd]

I went through bunches until I got one, and I never needed another. Unlike food processors, the KA doesn't heat up the dough. I use it mainly for bread. The only thing it really doesn't do is pastry, where you cut in the fat into the flour--but I think that is best done by hand (with a pastry cutter) anyway.

[KYHeirloomer]

There's cheap. And there's inexpensive. They're not necessarily the same.

When buying a KA you have to first consider how you will use it. F'rinstance, I have an antipathy to tilt-head mixers. And I use my stand mixer primarily for bread. So it was a no-brainer: the Pro-600 was my obvious choice.

However, being as bread isn't part of your requirements, and if a tilt-head mixer meets your comfort level, then the Artisan is all you need. It will do the job just fine, at considerably less cost than one of the pro models.

[oldschool1982]

Can't disagree with anything that's been said so far. I've had my KA for 14years now. Been thinking of upgrading to the 6qt though. Some of the things we do here like pizza dough, the 5qt is just too small. Don't get me wrong though the 5qt is very adequate for the home it's just that I'd prefer to get the whole batchs of dough in the bowl and not just half.

By the way.....You may not be preparing bread at the moment but you can't say that you won't wish to try it in the future. If you're going to invest the money in a mixer, maybe upgrading to the 5 or 6qt stand mixer may not be a bad idea. Better than having to go out and get a second mixer in a couple years.

[gwynedd]

I agree with the 6 qt. You won't burn it out on doughs. You can get them for as low as $299, but the 5-quart I've found for under $200, which is fantastic. There is a new beater design made by a third party that cuts beating time and sweeps the bowl almost clean. Fits 5 and 6 quart.

[jessiquina]

Originally Posted by gwynedd

The only thing it really doesn't do is pastry, where you cut in the fat into the flour--but I think that is best done by hand (with a pastry cutter) anyway.

i use it for all my rubbed doughs.

[gwynedd]

how do you process pie dough (rubbed) or biscuit?

[jessiquina]

Originally Posted by gwynedd

how do you process pie dough (rubbed) or biscuit?

add dry ingredients into bowl first. then you add your cold cubed butter. mix on slow speed until butter is desired size. slowly add your wet... just like you do by hand... just easier!

[tessa]

Originally Posted by jessiquina

add dry ingredients into bowl first. then you add your cold cubed butter. mix on slow speed until butter is desired size. slowly add your wet... just like you do by hand... just easier!

so Jessiquina you would use the dough hook for this ? or would you use the paddle and do you just mix till a breadcrumb texture

[gwynedd]

The cut method looks as if it would work! I might try the whisk attachment. I imagine the colder the butter, the better.

[chefelle]

Just use the paddle attachment. What you need to watch for is overworking when the liquid is added. Mix just until incorporated and then pull off mixer and finish by hand.

My mentor--an amazing French pastry chef!-- used to do all his scone and pastry dough on a Hobart. The key is to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get overmixed.

[chefelle]

Oh--and yes the butter needs to be cold.

Forgive me, Jessiquina for answering a question that was directed to you!