"Jane Lumley" > wrote in message
...
> I have been puddling along with a KitchenAid Artisan for six months, in
> an increasing sweat of frustration over its capacity. Even with only
> half a batch of stiff dough like bagel dough or stick dough like a
> sourdough, it struggles, and today it burnt out for the third time,
> though it was well below its own alleged maximum capacity and only on
> #2. I've been thinking about replacing it since I make 2 batches of
> bread a day and handkneading is a bit too time-consuming.
>
> But what with? Here in the midnight that is the UK, one cannot get a
> Bosch Universal or an Electrolux Magic Mill. One can only get enormous,
> frighteningly expensive professional mixers like the Hobart for £2k+.
> So the options seem to be
>
> 1. Struggle on with the Kitchen Aid, doing a lot of hand-kneading every
> few months.
> 2. Supplement it by getting another large stand mixer; there's a
> Kenwood of slightly superior capacity, and I suppose this means that I
> could knead two halves of a batch at once.
> 3. Supplement it with a bread machine, assuming they can be got to do
> mix and knead only. Again, range is limited in the UK; no Zojirushi,
> for instance. I gather these are only good for the kinds of doughs that
> are easy to knead by hand, though some say they are best with brioche.
>
> I'd be grateful for thoughts and appliance recommendations.
>
> --
> Jane Lumley

Contrary to popular opinion, home mixers aren't adequate for mixing bread
dough. Those that think they are don't make as much dough as you or I do.
If you don't want to invest in a commercial mixer, the you might do what
I've done and that is to keep 2 KA mixers. You can use one while the other
one is being repaired. I generally get them to last about 8-9 months and
then something goes haywire. You're right in keeping them at speed #2. If
you go past that, they will thrash themselves to death rather quickly.
There is no way a home mixer is going to survive long making 2 bread doughs
per day. I usually only make one.

The best solution, of course is the commercial mixer. There are some German
made 10 qt. models that are fairly affordable. I use one occasionally in
the bake shop. I can't remember the name but they should be less expensive
in the UK than the Hobart units.

Fred
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