Classes at SF Baking Institute
Seeking feedback on the weekend courses at SFBI on Baguettes or Sourdough. 2 days for each course at $398. I'm a fairly experienced home baker, have been working through Hamelman and Reinhardt books (and forum recipes) for the past year. Thanks to this forum I also have a wild yeast starter began a year ago that's working well.
Does anyone know what brand or type mixer (6-8 qt bowl) SFBI or other baking schools recommend for home bakers? I make 2-3 loaves of bread and large batches of cookies regularly, plus less frequent cake, pie, etc. My KA600 Pro died last weekend (got only 10 minutes of use after just having the head tightened AGAIN). I'm following forum threads on mixers and am learning so much from your experience. Will continue this question under the appropriate equipment category. Thanks!
My own experience, over forty years of home bread baking, is with a KA and what Electrolux now calls an Anksarum. My KA is older than the Ankarsum by probably a decade and the Anksarum is at least 20 years old. Both still work well. I cannot speak much about any other mixers but for a couple of breads I made6-8 years ago in my daughter's Cuisinart stand mixer. Here are my own thoughts: if you can afford it, have the counter space and/or storage space for it, and mix bread dough for two or more loaves, buy the Anksarum. It has advantages over all of the mixers of the KA style. First, it is more powerful, whether you buy an older used model (450W) or a newer one (600w). Mine is obviously the less powerful one but I've never felt I needed more power. Second, the Anksarum, unlike the KA-style mixers, offers easy access to the mixing bowl. Third, the Anksarum is always steady as a rock on my countertop regardless of what it's mixing. I now use my KA (which, by the way, has no problem with the automatic overheating cut-off switch the newer models have) only for the few times I make single loaves, or cake batter for no more than a double layer cake, or smaller batches of cookies. The Bosch countertop mixer is the only device I know of which compares in design to the Anksarum. I've never used one. I knew nothing of them when I got my Anksarum used on-line so long ago. It has never required repair nor lost any of its power over time. Indeed, it looks just the way it did when I took delivery.
So that's one opinion. There's lots to be found on all the various mixers using the search function above. Good luck with your choice.
When I went to SFBI, the question of home mixers never came up. I wish I had asked. I highly recommend SFBI, the instructors are great, the facility is fantastic, and you will definitely increase your knowledge of bread baking.