Good morning everyone!
I make bread since ~1 year, no machines. My technology has been so far just have a Dutch oven. My results so far are.. Mixed.
I want to invest in a machine that will last me years and let me explore different things. My ultimate goal is making perfect artisanal-level panettone (never succeeded so far)
I make small batches (~300g of flour) a couple of times a week.
I am very fascinated by the Ankarsrum and the Kitchenaid Heavy duty (this most for the design I admit), but online I saw so many contrasting reviews that I am very confused at the moment.
I am also open to other alternatives, cheaper is better, but I am ready to invest.
I came to this forum looking for a more engineered and geeky perspective. I am a total newbie, but this for me is a hobby and I am ready to learn and practice (If I just wanted bread, I would buy it at a bakery)
Can I reach top result with the KA or the Ank? Should I check something entirely different? I have to say that as a geek myself I am also fascinated by the machines themselves, so sometimes I end up spending more than the required just to be able to play with a more advanced toy. I am fine with that.
Thank you very much!
You could also consider the Ooni spiral mixer.
TomP
Hello Tom
Yes I considered that as well, I discarded it mostly because it does not do anything else other than kneading
That's not entirely true, according to a few reviews I saw -
https://www.seriouseats.com/ooni-halo-pro-spiral-stand-mixer-review-11716866
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtqjGJeGxYM
https://www.wired.com/review/ooni-halo-pro-spiral-mixer/
I meant you can't plug in a meat grinder to make salami or one of those things for pasta
I bought a Kitchen Aid mixer for my wife as a Christmas present in 1988. It is used at least once a week and still works as well now as it did in 1988. it also has an attachment you can use to grind meat and another to make pasta which we use regularly.
…once in the middle of a 120 dozen Christmas Cookie frenzy and once while kneading focaccia dough. Never looked back after buying an Ankarsrum 3-4 years ago. I regularly mix 2-3 kg dough batches and occasionally whip up a Basque Cheesecake or crème pâtissière. Yes you can purchase meat grinder and other accessories to attach at the power take-off port. The Ank is a great machine and, as I recently discovered, can actually clean itself.
I have a Bosch Compact mixer and it is a great little mixer. It can mix dough up to 1.5 kg, so if your needs are small batches, then it could be an option. I've mixed over 1 kg of heavy rye dough and whole wheat doughs around 1 kg. I haven't had any problem with it overheating on prolonged mixing like I've read can happen with KAs. Unfortunately, it is no longer available in the US, but used ones do show up on the auction sites.
Not to diminish any advice you will receive here, but you should also check out the Mixer-Owners group at groups.io. You will find them very helpful as well.