The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Does anyone use a Bosh Mixer to make bread?

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Does anyone use a Bosh Mixer to make bread?

I am looking for a good mixer to make bread in. I have a 15 year old Kitchen Aid and I’ve been having problems with it…I’m afraid it’s about to go out on me. I had thought I’d just pick up a new Kitchen Aid but after reading some reviews on the net about the new Kitchen Aids I know that’s not what I want.

 

I grind my own wheat and make all of our bread with 100% whole wheat so the dough is fairly heavy. I make two loaves of bread at a time and usually make bread at least two... sometimes three times a week.

 

I’ve been looking at the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer and I was wondering if anyone has used one and what they think about it.

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/Bosch_Universal_Plus_Mixer_MUM6N10UC.aspx

 

My son thinks I should get a Hobart but I really don’t want to spend that much money and I want a mixer that will fit on my kitchen counter.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

 Edited to add some pics of some loaves that I just took out of the oven. On is a little miss-shaped but it eats just as well.

 

keesmees's picture
keesmees

and the third one you have to look at is the braun. My 700 watt multipurpose kitchen machine is in use for 11 years now. he has no problems with 1200 g dough.

his successor, the  foodprocessor K3000 has 950 watt. 200-250€.

http://www.vergelijk.nl/keukenmachine/braun/k_3000/specs.rhtml

kees

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Thank you both for your quick replies….

 

Kent how old is your mixer? I am finding in my search for a new mixer that the newer mixers don't have the power or durability of the older models. The manufactures have cut back on quality and durability to save money so a newer model isn’t going to be a good as an older one of the same brand. 

fsu1mikeg's picture
fsu1mikeg

I have the smaller version and it works great.  It is more than adequate for all of the formulas scaled to accomodate the home baker in the bread books.  I believe it's about 450 watts and, as the name suggests, is very compact taking up little space on my counter.  The normal sized one might be too big for your counter, but I'm sure it would work even better if you need more power.

AnnieT's picture
AnnieT

I love my Bosch  mixer for large amounts of dough, but I don't use it for my single loaf of Susan's sourdough. I make "discard" bread every week and make 3 or 4 loaves at a time. Another plus is that it is very easy to clean. A yes vote, A.

Russ's picture
Russ

Out of Curiosity...

How large a batch of dough can you make in your Bosch Compact? How has it been for other functions, like cookies and cakes?

I got one for my mother for her birthday without knowing many of the finer details of the mixer, and wonder a bit about how capable a machine it is. I have only seen rave reviews of the Compact, which is why I chose it for her, but don't know much more than that.

Russ

coffeemachine's picture
coffeemachine

hi russ,

 

i personally am in love with my bosch compact. the machine supposedly can comfortably handle 6 lbs of dough, although i have not needed to make that large of a batch. it makes great cookies. and depending on if you bought any of the extra attachments, it practically does everything: the blender works very well; the continuous shredder works well, but the feed tube is not that big; grain mill works slowly, but you can adjust the coarseness of the grind while grinding. i also have the food processor and meat grinder attachments, but have not yet used them, so can not say. overall, i think this is money well spent.

 

hope your mother enjoys it. 

 

violet 

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Thank you all so much for all the help!!! I really do appreciate it.

Annie…I’m not sure what you mean by “discard” bread?? But thanks for the vote!!

 

DoughNut…If you wouldn’t mind sharing that number I’d love to put it away for future reference.

 

Kent…Thank you!! I’ll check out the site.

 

Slappy…I live in a very rural area and all we can get out here is dial-up so I can’t watch videos on the net… they won’t load up with the slow connection.

 

I don’t think I could use that method anyway because I use an extremely wet dough with a lot of vital wheat gluten in it so I have to have a mixer to make the bread.

 

I’m diabetic and my recipe is a high protein, whole wheat bread that’s designed to have less of an impact of my blood sugar. Luckily it also has a very good flavor and my family loves it so we all eat the same bread.

AnnieT's picture
AnnieT

Betty, this is what I call the bread I make to use up the sourdough starter that I discard when I refresh either of my starters. I save it until I have a container full then make a big batch of bread. I do add some instant yeast and sometimes dried milk or instant potato flakes, and lately raisins which my neighbors seem to like. A.

cady's picture
cady

Cady

We had our first Bosh for 20 years.  My sweet wife made all our bread - sandwich loaf - for our family of 7.  She could make five (5) loaves at a time and often made 3 batches per week.  We would make 75 pounds of flour into cinnamon reefs for Christmas.  We used it a lot.

After 20 years it started to die.  However, I must say that my daughter helped it die.   While in her early teens she was making chocolate chip cookies.  We keep our flour in white 5 gallon buckets.  The bucket was empty and she found another in storage.  Unfortunately it was not flour.  It was builders lime. (I used it to turn dried corn into hominy for pozole - a Mexican soup).  Well, she made a very large batch of concrete cookies (5 1/2 cups of lime).  I really believe the Bosh would be with us still.  Our second Bosh is now about 10 years old and I make lots of bagels, and hearth bread. It works fine. 

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Annie...I bet it is good!! And thanks for the explanation.

 

Cady...Thanks for the vote and thanks for the laugh!!

LeadDog's picture
LeadDog

Hi Betty.  I have a Bosch Universal Plus and it works fine for me.  I bought the grinding attachment for it and grind my own wheat with it.  The bread I like to make with it is a Whole Wheat Sourdough that is very wet.  This is the only bread mixer that I have ever used so I don't know how it compares but I very happy with it.

You wouldn't mind sharing your recipe for whole wheat loaf bread would you?  I want to start making some.

sharsilber's picture
sharsilber

I am also thinking about buying the Bosch and would love to grind my own wheat with it.  I had not seen a grain mill attachment on Pleasant Hill - is it not the same as the meat grinder is it?  And how much can you grind at a time?

Sharon

PS Take a look at Peter Reinhart's new whole grain bread book. I looked at it today and he has a meathod for making whoie grain bread that he claims to be better than most heavy whole grain bread recipes.

www.thebraidedloaf.com

LeadDog's picture
LeadDog

I got my Bosch and grinding attachment from this webpage.  http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/bosch.htm#mum6wb

The grinding attachment is a ways down the page.  I normally  grind about 600 grams at a time.  I know I can put more in there at a time but all you need to do is keep adding to the funnel and take away the flour from the output.

BettyR's picture
BettyR

I use a Nutramill to grind my wheat...even though I grind it on a medium course grind it's still fairly fine.

I use 4 parts hard white wheat to 1 part hard red. I grind my flour in 10 pound batches and store it in a large plastic container in the freezer. 10 pounds of flour will last me a couple of weeks if we don't have any company. I use organic wheat I order from Bob's Red Mill.

I also order my Vital Wheat Gluten from Bob's Red Mill in a 25 pound bag and I keep the bag in a large freezer in the garage and store a smaller amount in the freezer in the house.

The recipe is my own; after I was diagnosed with diabetes I did a lot of research on nutrition and with the help of some good folks in the low carb community we came up with this "formula" for a loaf of bread that has almost no impact on my blood sugar; so thankfully I don't have to give up my bread. The bread is very high protein and very nutritious but thankfully it's also very good and my family loves it so I can make the same bread for all of us.

I will do my best to tell you how I make my bread and you can experiment and see what works best for you.

2-1/2 cups hot water                                                                                      

1/3 heaping cup non-fat dried milk                                                                    

1 tablespoon sugar                                                                                        

1/3 heaping cup Splenda                                                                             

2-1/2 teaspoons salt                                                                                      

1/4 cup vegetable oil                                                                                        

3 extra large eggs                                                                                         

1/2 cup Vital Wheat Gluten                                                                                

3 cups whole wheat flour (scooped and shaken but not leveled off)                         

4 teaspoons instant yeast                                                                                  

2 cups whole wheat flour (scooped and shaken but not leveled off)

Place the first 9 ingredients in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine and then mix on medium speed until it starts to get stringy. 

Change to the dough hood and add the last 2 cups of flour and knead stopping every once in a while for a few seconds to give the gluten a moment to rest. This helps the gluten to develop better. This dough is going to be so impossibly wet you will think there is no way it will ever come together but it will. 

It takes about 20 to 25 minutes in my kitchen aid but it does come together and form a dough. Let it rise, shape it, let it rise again and bake at 375° for 26 to 27 minutes or until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 180° to 185°. 

Good luck and happy baking.                                                                                                            

 

 

bonnie1345's picture
bonnie1345

I have had my Bosch Universal about 8 years. I can make six loaves in it with ease, but now that my children are grown I usually make 2 loaves. When I do make six loaves I freeze part and take out of the freezer as needed. In the days with a large family at home the loaves would  be gone in five days. prior to having the Universal I had the Compact (my dealer was kind enough to allow a trade) It did two loave batches with ease and also could make a double batch of cookies without a bit of struggle. You can't go wrong, I assure you. A hobert would be a bit of an overkill for home use in my opinion. I had a kitchen aid also and believe me this is much more of a mixer.

 Sign me...............Bosch Fan, lol........  Bonnie

bonnie1345's picture
bonnie1345

I also grind my own wheat and as you know wheat dough is heavier......

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Thanks so much Bonnie...

I really appreciate the input. The mixer is supposed to be my Christmas gift but I'm really afraid that my Kitchen Aid is about to go out on me. I was planning on going ahead and ordering it, then sticking it in a closet until Christmas. If the Kitchen Aid lasts that long then I'll wrap the mixer up and stick it under the tree...but I want to have the mixer here just in case the Kitchen Aid dies so I wouldn't have to go a week or more without bread while waiting for it to ship. 

Jim S's picture
Jim S

I used a Bosch mixer for 33 years, making bread about once a week, until I moved out of the US… at which point I put it in storage.  The slow speed had stopped working, but I think I’ll have it repaired if I ever move back to the US (and 110 volt electricity).  While I have never owned a Kitchen Aid, it looks less convenient for adding ingredients than the Bosch, in which the dough hooks or mixers attach at the bottom of the bowl, leaving the top open to add ingredients.  I highly recommend it, assuming the newer models are of similar quality.  The design seems to be the same.

 

 BTW, in the last two years, without the Bosch, I have been happily kneading by hand.  The only disadvantage, to me, is that I could comfortably use wetter dough in the Bosch.

 

Jim S

Santiago Chile      

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Thank you Jim.

My son doesn't like the Bosh because it's made out of plastic and I do agree that plastic won't last as long as metal... but then my Kitchen Aid is made out of metal and it hasn't lasted 33 years. 

 

berryblondeboys's picture
berryblondeboys

When  I was looking for a mixer I found myself in a dead tie for the Bosch Universal and the DLX 2000. I ended up choosing the DLX with no regrets, but who says I would regret the Universal either? 

I then tried two KAs (artisan and pro 600) and I HATED them. They were messier, harder to clean, harder to access the bowl while it was beating and I was afraid of dough getting up in the workings of the machine.

BUT... by that time I had been using my DLX for 2 years. I had "mostly" learned how to use it (and there is a learning curve with this and the bosch) and switching to a KA didn't transition well. So, if you are used to a KA, you may find a different way of doing it a bit disconcerting at first, but stick with it as I think you will be much happier in the end.

I LOVE that the DLX comes with two bowls. Since I also bake cakes, I do the frosting in the stainless steel one and the cake in the plastic one. I keep a small KA handheld for quick jobs (beating eggs/cream, etc).

 

Melissa

 

                                Sweet Melissa's
Custom cakes made from scratch using organic ingredients
http://www.sweetmelissas.net/     http://sweetmelissas.blogspot.com/

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Melissa,

Thank you very much...I took a look at the mixer and I really like the looks of it. I really appreciate the reply. 

Betty

sharsilber's picture
sharsilber

I just bought a second hand KA in an attempt to save money.  I can say with some certainty that I do not like it for bread.  My food processor does a much better job (be it with only a small amount of dough.  I am just going to bite the bullet and get the Bosch and keep the KA for cookies which I think is more what it is made for.  I am also temped to buy the icecream attachement for the KA to put it to good use.

Sharon

www.thebraidedloaf.com

Oldcampcook's picture
Oldcampcook

I bought a used Bosch Universal two years ago from Ebay.  Best purchase I believe I have ever made.  I do 3 - 4 batches of different doughs every weekend.  I simply rinse out the bowl and the dough hook off and start on the next batch.

I can be feeding starters or measuring ingredients or a host of other things while it is kneading.

I did buy the continuous grinder attachment later, also off Ebay, and it sure makes chopping my ingredients for fried rice, etc, a piece of cake (pun intended).

I have the address, if anyone wants it,  for a Bosch repair shop in Wichita Kansas that repaired another Bosch base for me and did a great, reasonably priced job.

Bob