Bodum Stand Mixer
So Costco dropped their price on this mixer to $150 the other day, and I figured why not try it out?
(here is link to Amazon's page of it: http://www.amazon.com/BODUM-11381-01US-Bistro-Electric-4-7-Liter/dp/B008FR5BAO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395796258&sr=8-1&keywords=bodum+stand+mixer)
I HAD a KitchenAid Artisan, but it was stolen (who the hell steals a stand mixer?) I did love my Artisan, but thought I'd try this since the Amazon reviews were pretty good.
The biggest complaints I noticed about it were regarding the exterior's construction - people thought it felt "cheap" in some cases, and next to the KitchenAid, I can see why. If you've never had a KitchenAid, you'd likely find it to be quite nice, however. I didn't read anything about any mixers actually breaking, so it appears to be an aesthetic issue.
Next, I tested two things on it - first, I made some butter with the whisk attachment. The whisk didn't scrape the sides of the bowl, however it got close enough. The mixing head lifts quite easy, and since the splash guard is attached to the head, it doesn't get in the way if you need to scrape the sides (Artisan's attached to bowl). So if you want a mixer where you don't have to scrape bowl at all, then I'd say don't get this (then again, I had to scrape Artisan at times). But it does a fairly decent job, and if you have no problem running a spatula along the bowl, then it's not a big deal. The speeds go from 1-7 (max). I decided to whip the cream on "4" setting. Now instructions say don't run mixer for longer than 5 minutes (I called Bodum, and they said that only applies if you're doing some HEAVY mixing at max speed. So you can in theory run for a long, long time as long as you're not mixing concrete). But to be prudent, I chose mid-setting & the butter took 17 minutes to make.
Second, I did some baguette dough w/ dough hook. Standard recipe - 2 cups water, 3 cups KA bread flour, 1 tsp. diastatic malt, 1 tsp. salt. Made with poolish (1/8 tsp yeast) & heaping 1/2 tsp. yeast in final dough. Anyways, running on the "3" speed, it took right at 10 minutes for the dough to take shape. At that point it was what you'd consider "ideal."
So after a trial run, I like it. Artisan might be a little better, but @ $150 with Costco's warranty (forever), this one more than meets my needs (the needs of a "once in a while" baker). I owe someone banana bread, so when I make that I'll update with paddle review (apparently that was an issue, too, how paddle didn't get sides of bowl, resulting in need to scrape).
...is what I'd describe as a twisted J (is that same as c shaped?) I pulled link from website - if you look closely, you'll notice it's not entirely planar (slight twist). Regarding climbing, I'd say there was none. The dough probably only made contact with the bottom ~75% of the hook or so.
http://www.bodum.com/gb/en-us/shop/detail/01-11381-03-15/
So original post talked about whisk/dough hook. Here's update on paddle. Made a batch of banana bread, and it did a great job of mixing (the batter on the side of the bowl was minimal).
Another thing, made a small batch of of dough for hamburger buns the other day (1.5 cups of AP flour). It was too small of an amount for the hook to pick up on its own. After hand kneading, the hook was able to catch dough ball and handle it. On my first batch of dough, however, the hook was able to handle everything without my interference.
So compared to my former Kitchen Aid Artisan, I'd give the Artisan an edge in intangibles (the mixing head lifts more smoothly, there are fewer nooks & crannies to worry about cleaning, it's heavier), but they both get the job done equally well (Bodum has better splash guard design, though). Hard to find a new Artisan for less than $300, while the Bodum can be had for almost half that (and actually at half if you buy from Costco online). Anyways, drop me any questions if you have any about this thing...
Ive been baking for years and I'm toying with the idea of buy a new mixer (my old KA is now the property of my ex, boooo!) but I really just can't afford much at the moment. It seems like this mixer would work just fine for light things like batters, and merengues but Im curious how it handles stiffer doughs like bagel dough. Do you have any experience with that? The power seems to be there but some say it's top heavy and Im worried it will wobble around a lot. Also, is it generally loud? Thanks for your help.
The ex got the mixer?! Hope you got the dog to make up for it :-P
I have not done any bagel doughs. The stiffest dough I've messed with it a brioche, which has the consistency of cinnamon rolls. No problems. Yes, the mixer is top heavy, but I have never had it move (there are suction cups on the bottom). It is quite loud (high pitched). The instructions say not to operate for longer than something like 5-10 minutes, but I've churned butter many times with it, leaving it running for 15 minutes without problem. It's a solid mixer and after using it weekly for ~8 months now have no regrets :)
The price is so enticing at $155 I think I may jump on it. Thanks again!
How is it goin so far? It is 2018 now. Is the Bodum up to par still?
I love my Bosch compact although it has some limitations. I've used it a bunch of times to make stiff bagel dough and I've made a ton of pizza dough with it. It has plenty of power for both (so long as your not trying 10 pizzas at a time). I like it because I have a small family and I'm not looking to make a ton of dough when I bake. I have also used it for cookie dough, buttercream and cake batter and I think it handles those tasks pretty well.
One shortcoming is it's inability to whip small amounts of egg whites. I don't bake a ton of cakes but I do like to experiment once in a while with nougats, merengues, cakes, etc. And it does a really poor job in my experience whipping 1-2 egg whites.
Still, all in all, it's a great little mixer. It's cheap, it has enough power for the breads I make and it does have some cool attachments too. I picked up a meat grinder attachment for it from ebay and I've even been using to make sausages and burger meats.