July 5, 2007 - 7:34pm
high capacity mixers—opinions?
I am now baking out of a 30" round mud oven and I want a mixer that can mix up more dough than my Kitchen Aid 5 qt. I have no beef with the KA, but I need more capacity. Wondering if people have thoughts on the following:
KA 6 qt
DeLonghi 7 qt
Viking 7 qt
New Cuisinart 7 qt
Electrolux 8 qt
or any others you might know of, but $600 is about the top of the price range.
Realistically, this would augment my KA, not replace it, as filling the oven will likely require both machines.
Appreciate any wisdom the group can provide.
Share
I have the KA 600 Pro, 6 qt. It handles a lot of dough. I double recipes with no problem. Although not a stiff dough, I tripled the banana bread recipe you see under the favorite recipes and I think it only came half way up the bowl. I've never had an overheating safety stop.
I really wanted the Viking but when I heard it takes twice as long to whip egg whites and Cooks Illulstrated had a tough time with the attachments staying in, I opted for the KA 600. Regardless of what you hear, the gears in the 600 are metal, not plastic. One thing I do not like is the that the attachments are not dishwasher safe, ie, lots of alluminum oxide will form (I believe that's what it was). Apparently you can purchase stainless steel attachments.
hope this helps,
SD Baker
I also have a KA 600 Pro and I am very happy with it. Since I got a really good deal on it I did not buy my first choice, a Viking. The fact that the attachments cannot go in the dishwasher is a no-issue to me since I quickly rinse them off right away. That's necessary especially if you want to start the next batch shortly after.
The KA 600 Pro is a definite upgrade to the KA6 or KA5, not only because of the more powerful dough hook and the larger thrust bearings. My second machine will be the Viking though.
BROTKUNST
Another avenue if you really want to go wild would be to see if you can't find a Hobart 20 qt.. You might find a real good deal on one of these used. Ebay has them woute a bit and I have seen them go for a relative song. Where I live they also have a used restaurant equipment dealer and I have seen them there not sure on their price though.
I have an Elextrolux, and it will do all you need to fill the oven. Yesterday I mixed 2 batches of 2.5 pounds, and a 4 pound batch of sourdough, and then a 5 pound batch of 50/50 wheat sandwhich bread. It was actually kind of smaller batches than usual, but it can easily do 3-4 kinds of dough in a row with no complaints.
I picked up a KA later to supplement, mostly for small things like cookies and cakes, and the ocassional small batch of pizza dough that might get lost in the DLX.
I think one of the larger KAs would probably work for you too, but the DLX is really a strong workhorse, I really like it.
I regularly use a DLX to make 4 2# loaves of 100% whole grain bread with ease. I could mix more, but that's all my oven can handle at one time.
I had a KA before I got my DLX, but it just struggled too much with whole grain dough. I still have it and use it for other things, occasionally, but the DLX is my mixer of choice for breads.
Nancy
I got the 7qt DeLonghi to do large batches of heavy wet dough and it hasn't let me down, but I got it for $295 about 2 years ago. I thing the price was low because of mergers and buy outs. The only thing it can't do is a very large batch of bagle dough which is pretty dry and stiff.
Even though I really like this one, for your needs I would recommend the DLX just so you can make enough to really use your oven to the max.
I'm new here so I'm wondering if you've posted any pictures of your oven or any "how to" for building.
We have a few finishing touches left to add, and I want to learn to run it well enough that I can turn out loaves that are pretty enough for company. Baked 4 medium boules today using the Della Fattoria polenta recipe from ABAA, and it was a bit of a disappointment--dough was too slack and sticky for all the moving around (proofing indoors, baking outdoors) and they are rather flat.
So, more to come. So far, the project has been a good success with some lessons learned.
Scott,
I'm going to build an earth oven this summer and I'm interested in how it works for you and what lessons you are learning. Maybe you should start another thread as there are others who would like to see this. I hadn't thought about the issue of proofing in one area and moving to the outdoor oven.
Eric
I too am looking. Does anyone have a comment on the Bosch Universal? I kind of like the price and the described kneading action seems efficient. Comments so far about listed brands has been very useful.
Has anyone used the new Cuisinart 7 quart (or 5.5 quart mixer)? how does it compare with Bosch Universal?