The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

New Electrolux Assistent mixer

scott lynch's picture
scott lynch

New Electrolux Assistent mixer

Santa came in style this year, and brought the Electrolux mixer I had been dreaming of.  I was having trouble mixing enough dough to fill my mud oven, so I hope this will do the trick.  Many thanks to my mother, who, come to think of it, gave me my KitchenAid many years ago, and also gave me "Bread Alone" way back, the book that got me into sourdough baking.

 

When I requested feedback on higher capacity home mixers a  while back, not many people seemed to have experience with this one.  I will post updates as I use it.  Today it came out of the box and mixed up a couple of pizza crusts--hardly a test, but it was interesting to watch it work.

 

Things I like about it so far:

1. Huge capacity.  Instructions claim it will knead a dough made of 23 cups of flour.  We'll see.

2. Infinite-adjust speed control (no click stops) and a timer with auto shutoff.

3. Very open above the bowl.  Easy to add ingredients, poke dough, etc.

4. Comes with bowl cover (great for autolyse and bulk fermentation).

(one negative--extra bowls cost a hundred bucks, but you may be buying by the pound--there is a lot of metal in them!) 

More to come next week. 

starchmouth's picture
starchmouth

Thanks for the review.

As a prospective buyer of the DLX, I'm looking forward to seeing what you think after a few more uses.

ElbaLiz's picture
ElbaLiz (not verified)

I am new to this blog, what a find!!  I have flax breading rising as I write this and HAVE to make bread at least every 2-3 days or I go into DT's!!!!

I burned out 2 KA's, always used according to the book, but after grinding my own grains and with the extended mixing times, it is tooo much.  So I went on Craig's List and purchased an Electrolux.  It was between the Electrolux and a Bosch, after doing research.  So far, very pleased, a bit getting used to when to use the hook and when to use the roller, any suggestions or rules of them?

campcook's picture
campcook

I'm new to bread baking (making) but was inspired by the big airy breads we experienced in Rome .  We had a KA that was a few years old and really struggled with the high gluten dough and long kneads.  So, after reading about NY pizza and the success with the DLX, I went for it.  I also bought a Nutrimill because I am big into tastes and textures and wanted the WW experience.  So far, I am very pleased with the DLX.  It is clearly superior to the KA.  However, in the meantime, I have discovered no-kneads and am having incredible success.  I will get back to the kneaded variety but need some time to get this down pat.  I can tell that learning the dough with no-knead will make me better when I begin using the DLX again.

Dave

an engineer trying to bake good bread.  Have Nutrimill

naschol's picture
naschol

The DLX is a great mixer.  I have had mine for 3-4 years, now, and don't know how I could make kneaded bread without it.  It makes a great textured bread.  I regularly make 5 loaves (2#) of bread and it doesn't slow it down at all.

 

Nancy

ElbaLiz's picture
ElbaLiz (not verified)

can you tell me when you use your roller vs. hook, why or why not?  I've only had my DLX for about 4 weeks, getting used to it, burned out 2 KA's!!

 

Thanks,

Liz

Jimme's picture
Jimme

ElbaLiz,

 

I find the dough hook does not do a decent job of needing till I have a recipe with 8+ cups of flour.  For 7 cups or less I use the roller and scraper, 9 cups or more I use the dough hook alone with no scraper.  Add your liquids first with the dough hook and then dry ingredients a bit at a time until you get a circulation and the mixing starts.  You may have to adjust the dough hook to ride a bit lower in the bowl via the set screw at the bottom of the scraper hole. 

If you have more specific questions, feel free to private message. 

We use our DLX multiple times per week and it has allowed us to produce breads and baked goods for our family that I know wouldn't have been produced without it.

Jim