power mixer?

[fermopagus]

i have recently gotten the itch to make my own bread, and i am interested in purchasing a power mixer. first off, do i really need one? i imagine i would use it for other things. however, if i don't need it for bread, i probably won't purchase one. and secondly, can anyone recommend a decent one that isn't too expensive? thanks.

 

[shannone]

I have always heard that the Bosch mixer is great for making. The prices for these mixers range from $100 - $400. I know its not that cheap, but my grandmother has one and she swear by it. I use my KitchenAid mixer and it has a dough hook. I paid about $340 bucks for mine, but I use it all the time.

 

[phoenyxstarr]

My mom used to have a stand mixer... I think that's what it's called. They are the bigger ones that come with all the hooks and other assorted mixing pieces. They're bigger and more powerful than the hand-held mixers, and the one she had came with it's own bowl. I've seen Emeril use one on Food Network tons of times. My daughter loves watching Emeril... he's not my favorite though.

 

[loubear]

I have a kitchen aid I bought for my christmas present 2 years ago, and my mother decided after eating my bread and stuff she would get one also we love it and it is definetly a multitasker as Alton Brown would say! You can get all kinds of atachments for it as well and Kitchen aid really stands behind their products. Check the sales around at the department stores or online and a lot of times you can find package deals where they throw in some of the attachments with the mixer.

 

[Angewl_73]

I really wanted a bog fancy mixer, but we could not afford it.

My hubby bought a cheap durabrand stand mixer for $20 at walmart. I was very skeptical.

It is basically a handmixer with a stand and bowl.

I was really shocked at the 350 watts! It mixed all my cookie dough wonderfully.

It did not come with any other hooks, though. Just the regular mixer ones.

 

[medako]

I have a kitchen aid stand mixer and I love it. I don't use it very often, even thought I probably should. I haven't ever used the dough hook - might have to think about makin' bread before long (I would eat only bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so I try not to keep homemade bread around).

I use it most for mixing meatloaf and the tons of cookies and goodies I make during the holidays.

 

[Mama Mangia]

gosh - I have a hand held mixer - I blew the motor on my big one (no dough hooks with it though) and the only power mixer I have is my famous "lefty" and "righty"...........and muscle power - that's how I make bread -

I would like to try making bread using a dough hook - but knowing me - it would be like going from the wringer washer to the automatic - I had to keep opening it and checking it to see if it was washing properly - I just didn't trust it! LOL and when they came out with the automatic locking mechanism as a safety feature (so that you wouldn't get your arm caught in the agitator) I had to figure out how to break the lock so I could still check on the wash -

yeah - I'm old................

 

[Mrs. Chipotle]

My KitchenAid was expensive but well worth the money. I use it constantly and it will last a lifetime. They have great attachments like a sausage grinder and even an ice cream maker, so it is a very versatile appliance.

 

[lcsamano]

My KitchenAid was expensive but well worth the money. I use it constantly and it will last a lifetime. They have great attachments like a sausage grinder and even an ice cream maker, so it is a very versatile appliance.

Does your Kitchen aid also have the pasta attachment? I might be thinking of another type of mixer but a friend of mine was telling me about one that has the ice cream attachmetns as well as the pasta attachments.

 

[Big Daddy's Kitchen]

gosh - I have a hand held mixer - I blew the motor on my big one (no dough hooks with it though) and the only power mixer I have is my famous "lefty" and "righty"...........and muscle power - that's how I make bread -

I would like to try making bread using a dough hook - but knowing me - it would be like going from the wringer washer to the automatic - I had to keep opening it and checking it to see if it was washing properly - I just didn't trust it! LOL and when they came out with the automatic locking mechanism as a safety feature (so that you wouldn't get your arm caught in the agitator) I had to figure out how to break the lock so I could still check on the wash -

yeah - I'm old................

Mama, you seem to love and have lots of patience and fun doing a lot of things by hand. God bless you for your incredible strength!!

I could not even mix a cake batter by hand! And since I'm a leftie, I couldn't do it anyway, since my left shoulder hurts very badly at times, so I know that beating cake batters and doughs by hand, or even whipping egg whites or making whipped cream by hand is out of the question!

I truly commend you on your endurance to take on lots of tasks by hand. You're truly one of a kind!

 

[kwinem]

One really good one for bread, pasta & just about everything else would be the Kitchenaid mixer. They're kind of pricey, but well worth the money. If you're just going to mix bread doughs, you might look into a bread machine.

 

[The Ironic Chef]

I have a kitchen Aid stand mixer that i also bought myself for a Christmas gift about 10 years ago. I would say it's the most useful appliance I have in the kitchen. Walmart had them on sale this Christmas at about a 120.00. That's really cheap. I love making doughs in it. The dough hook works excellent but I do still knead the dough by hand for about 5 minutes just to make sure I have the texture that I want. The mixing paddle for cakes and batters work excellent as does the whisk. Whipping creams or egg whites couldn't be easier. This year my wife bought me the pasta roller and a few pasta cutters for Christmas and they work absolutely amazing. Several years ago I was given the pasta and food grinder attachments. The food grinder works excellent for grinding meats. Great textures as far as ham, turkey or chicken salads go. The dyes for the pasta making though didn't work so well.
I would suggest an investment in a Kitchen Aid. Build onto it through the years. It's well worth it.