I also don’t own a stand mixer. Until recently I didn’t even own an electric mixer, just a selection of whisks and one of those hand rotary mixers.

Now that I bake cakes from time to time, I do find my hand-held KitchenAid mixer to be useful.

My husband does all the bread baking, and he enjoys kneading by hand far too much to let a mixer steal all the fun!

I do more pie and pastry baking. I love my food processor!

I started with a sunbeam stand mixer.  That survived about 4 years.  Once I started making bread using the mixer (esp pita and gozleme doughs) a nasty smoke smell accompanied usage.  I was lucky enough to get a 5qt KitchenAid this August (as a birthday present from my husband- hence the grey).  In Australia they cost $650.  Almost bought on online to ship but postage and a converter from 110 to 220 made the cost difference negligable.  The 6 qt model is available through catering supply only here at $795 too much for me (for now).

The sunbeam had the 2 beaters or dough hooks and glass bowls that would spin around.  The beaters were really hard to keep clean (there was a little plastic bit to stop the metal from rubbing against the bowl).  Also the whole unit was quite light and it would have counter walks quite frequently.

I really love the KitchenAid.  I think I get better volume from egg whites and cream.  It copes with low hydration doughs really well.  I also like the paddle which wasn’t an option with my sunbeam.  It also makes cooking with children around so much easier- the pouring shield for me is mostly used to keep my helpers from getting too excited and putting their hands in!   

Stand mixers are wonderful to free you up for multi tasking.  The brand choices we have here are a bit more limited but even at the price here I would buy another KitchenAid.

i too have the KA 5 quart. what irks me is that i waited until i could afford the 5 because i wanted the biggest bowl possible and like 2 months later they came out with the 6 qt! grrr. Now, my dream mixer is a 20 qt hobart!

cant wait to get one.

jen

I have a five qt Kitchen Aid, as well… for about 21 years…. I have used the newer, 6 qt model, but don’t like them nearly as much.  perhaps it’s because I’m so accustomed to the older one… I got two bowls for mine, when I bought it, and it has joined me in many a commercial kitchen.  right now, it’s sitting in one of my kitchen sink (limited counter space).  I will admit, that it does show it’s age… but I’ve given it a few touch ups with my favorite nail polish colors..

I’ve got the Kitchen Aid 5 quart.  It was a housewarming gift from my VERY GENEROUS sister.  At that time, she worked at Linnens and Things…so the employee discount clearly helped…but it was a gift…and how can you argue with free!  I use it constantly and have had no trouble at all.  I love it.  I have been asked to do a wedding cake…first one…I think the bowl will be a little too small to do the frosting in one batch…but since I rarely need to do something that large…the 5 qt. will do just fine.

Electrolux Assistent N24 which has a 600w motor. I think the bad review is because you need to learn how to angle the dough hook. I never use the roller anymore. An electronics component broke on mine after 7 years. Electrolux thought it was odd to see an Assistent come for repair. I have got virtually all accessories and works well. I would rate it 80/100.

Same model has been around since 1940ś. Electrolux, the inventor of the modern refrigerator (the quiet one, still used in hotels). Did anyone know that?

//Stefan

I also have the Electrolux DLX Assistent. Mine is brand new - I’ve had it less than a month. Had a Kitchenaid 4.5 qt Ultra Power, but when I took up baking bread it didn’t feel very capable. Had been leaning toward a KA 6 qt Pro, but after running into some bad reviews (on amazon & epinions, mostly) and doing much research I settled on the Electrolux (In the end it had come down to a decision between the DLX and the Bosch Universal Plus).

So far I’m still learning how to use it, but I like my new mixer a lot.

i love my delonghi 7qt mixer,i’ve been thiking of getting another bowl to go with it for big jobs.

I have an Empire (?) Green Kitchen Aid 5 quart Heavy Duty from around 1992.  I wish the head tilted up like the new ones, but it sounds like I should hold onto it as long as I can due to manufacturing changes.  It’s a shame.  I spent about two years selling Kitchen Aids as a cookware store, and I always felt great about selling the product.  (I hate selling people things they don’t need, or aren’t any good.)

It hasn’t gotten nearly the workout as I’m sure many of yours have, but it has always done well by me.  When I got it, it came with an extra bowl and a pouring shield (special package from Williams-Sonoma).  The extra bowl is great.  I hate stopping to wash.  Especially for the Mouselline Buttercream.  One bowl and the flat beater for the butter, and the second and the whisk for the egg whites.  Works perfectly.  But I have to say, I’ve never felt the pouring shield was worth it, until I did the batter for two 10 inch cakes and the 11 cup recipe of Buttercream.  Kept it all in the bowl.

I have made bread, cakes, cookies, buttercream, brioche, cheesecakes, (the Cordon Rose is wonderful) and it’s never let me down (though it does heat up a bit with heavy doughs, and tends to walk accross the counter when kneading dough if the feet have any flour or dust on them).  It has needed one repair which cost about $50.  Oh, and I caught a spatula with my whisk attachment, and bent it (the whisk, not the spatula. Don’t ask).

I also have a 7 speed Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer which is great when I don’t feel like dragging out the Green Monster.  It does a fine job on cookies, whipped cream, rewhipping small amounts of buttercream, (boxed cakes ), etc.

KitchenAid best seller item…

... is the 5 qt Artisan tilt head stand mixer, without a doubt !!!

Many have asked me which mixer to choose, the options are many which makes a difficult decision. Let me tell you, I’ve had a mixer for the past 30 years, from the Sunbeam with rotating glass bowls, the KitchenAid 5qt bowl lift, etc.  I have now a KitchenAid Pro 600, and 3 KitchenAid Artisans!!! The Pro 600, the largest KitchenAid mixer, with its larger 6qt capacity is great for bigger loaves of bread, whip large batches of egg whites and frostings.  But it is the Artisan which I believe has the most perfect bowl shape and the most friendly and practical operation.

The Artisan bowl is narrow and tall so it is virtually splash free and the tilt head so handy when adding ingredients. The bowl has also a very pointed and narrow bottom, perfectly designed to minimize bowl scraping since ingredients fall back in.  The bowl locks on the base with a one hand motion crank which is a plus when handling the bowl without any danger of tipping.  I also love to throw my used utensils, including my 18-inch circumference whisk in the bowl, to save counter space and keep things clean! 

Everyone should considering getting the Artisan, as the first, and perhaps only mixer.  Now the Artisan has plenty of power and torque, making it a close contender to the 5 qt heavier duty bowl lift models.  What I don’t like about the 5qt bowl lift models is that the bowl is too narrow and been non-tilt head, it is really difficult to add ingredients or scrape, note that you should know by now that the pouring shield on the 5qt mixers are just a useless JOKE!

I would say, the Pro 600 is the improved version of the 5qt bowl lift models.  And if you own a Pro 600, and consider getting a second mixer, get the Artisan.  It is a perfect marriage when you have the large 6qt bowl lift mixer and the smaller 5qt tilt head mixer, this duo fits every job you can think of.  You can find the Artisan mixers at heavily discounted Factory Refurbished prices, it may be more useful to get a whole second mixer (the Artisan, refurbished) than buying a second set of bowl and whisk for your first mixer.  Let me tell you, when making cakes that require whipping egg whites separately, I do so on my Pro 600 while the Artisan is whipping the egg yolks, I love watching my dynamic duo in action, but not love hearing it unless you wear ear plugs (which I always do!)

I use the new version of Assistent Original, previously sold under the brand DLX or MagicMill. I have earlier used and broken some KitchenAid’s. I think that Assistent is totally outstanding if you like baking bread and want to make large quantities at the same time.

The bowl has a capacity of up to 10 lb and you can easily bake heavy sourdough bread with it!

Here is link to their company homepage: http://www.assistent.nu/us/

I have had a 4.5 qt. KA for 30 years, and it still works without problems.  About 23 years ago hubby surprised me with a pretty deep blue KA 5 qt and it too worked without problems until last month when he dropped a measuring cup in it while it was running and it stripped a gear.  He couldn’t get it to work after ordering a new gear (he was very disappointed that the new parts are a type of plastic), so we found a KA Pro 600, (merengue white) on sale through Amazon and ordered it.  In the mean time, hubby managed to get the 5 qt. working.  By getting the merengue white, as opposed to any shiny color or one of the pretty colors we saved $100, plus it was on sale, making a very reasonable price.

So my daughter who didn’t have a stand mixer is now the owner of my 5 qt. KA.  So far the pro has worked great for bread, cakes and I especially loved all the room for the Angel Food Cake (RHC), but I have read about the ‘pastic’ housing.  According to my research, they have fixed this issue, and will replace any that break.

I looked at other brands, but have relied on KA for all but one year of my marriage, it felt like I was cheating to have a different brand!   
Seriously, I have had my KA’s work so hard and they have never failed so I have high hopes for the new one.