The KitchenAid food mixer is the best thing to happen to your kitchen since sliced bread. The mixers come in a variety of bowl sizes and motor sizes. The best way to gauge the right model for you is to determine what your main use for it will be; breads, pastries, cookies, batters, creaming, or pretty much anything you want. This stand mixer can handle it all! Next you need to decide the batch size you plan to mix. Obviously, price will be a determining factor as well.
The nice thing about KitchenAid is that even the smaller mixers come with a flat beater, whisk, and “C” dough hook. KitchenAid food mixers have been referred to as the overachiever of the stand mixer family. Some models can handle up to 14 cups of four! That means it can mix enough dough for 8 loaves of bread or 13 dozen cookies in a single bowl. The fact that any of the KitchenAid stand mixers come with a “C” dough hook is great news for the amateur and more serious baker alike. A “C” shaped dough hook will mix and knead the dough at the same time, whereas straight dough hooks, which look kind of like a cork screw, do not knead the dough while it is being mixed. What does this mean for the cook? You can multi task while making your bread because the mixer is doing all the work for you!
The KitchenAid stand mixer can also save you time by decreasing the mixing time for dough. Kneading the dough on Speed 2 for approximately 2 minutes is equivalent to 12 minutes of hand kneading! Initially, some consumers may mix the dough longer than necessary (and at a higher speed than necessary) because they are not familiar with the mixing action of the “C” shaped dough hook. The next question is how the “C” hook can knead the bread. The key is in the “C” shape of the hook.
After the dough is mixed and forms a ball on the hook, the hook presses the dough against the side of the bowl as it moves and turns toward the bowl. The dough is pressed against the side of the bowl in an arc motion and held in place by friction and pressure. This action mimics the action of hand kneading where dough is held in place between your hands and the board. As the hook moves on, the dough is stretched and pressed against the side of the bowl, which slightly deforms it. The hook continues to rotate and the bulge on the side of the dough is pressed against the side of the bowl which causes the dough to rotate slightly on the hook.
This action is repeated until the dough is at the desired consistency. The KitchenAid stand mixer truly is a gift to home bakers. It has undoubtedly revolutionized the food mixer industry. The pure fact that it can muscle around all that heavy dough with ease, thus eliminating the tiring task of stirring and kneading makes both wives and husbands happy! Once you've tried baking with a KitchenAid mixer, you'll put it on the top of your kitchen “must haves”. Fresh baked cookies and bread are easier than ever. Finally, that bag of sliced bread on the counter can be your very own freshly baked homemade bread.
