I have a 35yo mixer KA 5 qt. It still works well for most things, but cannot handle Trailrunner's challah recipe, lol. I just got a pro600 a few days ago for bread making primarily. (Amazon had them on sale for $334 to $400 depending on color).

The screw style hook is great. With the c-hook, the bread dough crept up until it got into the motor casing. The s-hook throws the dough back into the bowl. I've only made sweet rolls so far. They were more tender than any made on the old KA mixer.

I didn't mind or have trouble with the bowl lift. The old one is a tilt head.

Alice:
I had problems with the KA Classic, with the Dough riding up the hook to the motor.
I asked if they had some kind of a guard. They didn't.
I was going to make one but
decided to send it back.
I got the Pro 600 and had no problems. I don't think it's an overkill.
I bought it thru Amazon, got a good price and free shipping.
I guess there will be others to help you out, on advise.
Lou

The Price of mine was $259.99. I got a $50 rebate,
Plus Free Shipping.
That was in Dec. 07. I picked a Color that was in stock,
that matched my Kitchen.
Check prices with ACE Hardware in NY. Ask about free Shipping.
Lou

Ignore the wattage. Most companies list the watts a mixer pulls from the outlet. Wattage is not a reliable indicator of power. The Hobart N50 used in restaurant kitchens has only 124 watts but is perfectly capable of very heavy-duty commercial mixing.

That being said, I have a KA Pro 600 and am very happy with its performance. Sometimes I have more capacity than I really need, but at holiday time it's very useful to be able to mix big batches. I don't think you'd be disappointed. If you keep an eye out for a good price, the difference should be minimal.

Carol

One other factor to consider is how often you will be stressing it to the max. I have a KA 350 watt mixer that does strain a bit on a 6 cup recipe of bread dough, but I don't do it that often. If I was planning on baking bread very frequently, I'd go for a heavier duty model.

If you are considering doing a lot of heavy duty mixing, you might look at the Cuisinart or Viking models. Check out King Arthur Flour's web site (at the link, click on 'appliances') for descriptions.

FWIW my model has a bowl-lift, not a tilt head. I like it fine, although I've never used a tilt head model

I think there are a few mistaken ideas above.

1) The idea that you're going to use a mechanical device more or less often, or stress it with a greater or lesser load doesn't exactly tell you whether you need a certain size machine. If you buy a mixer with modest power output and overload it, you begin to damage it regardless of whether this is once a week, once a month, or ten times a day. This is because overloading an electric motor creates more heat in the motor windings than the design is built to handle. The heat begins to melt the insulation in the motor windings (a mass of copper wire wound in a 'pile' and separated only by a coating of varnish on each strand of wire). Melting this insulation completely between any adjacent wires creates a short circuit in the windings. Unlike a short circuit in your house wiring, this usually won't make the unit fail all at once, but it will reduce the power, however slightly, causing it to overheat more on the next use, causing yet more overheating, and on and on.

So the real question is, how much of an overload can a particular machine take before this happens, and no one is going to give out that info.

Some commercial machines of all kinds are rated for a certain constant load, with the extra advice that they can take a certain occasional or transient overload. They may say something like "approved for occasional use at 112% rated power not exceeding xxx minutes".

Smoke from the mixer is a definite sign of the insulation melting as mentioned above. You get to decide (gamble) how much of this you're going to do.

2) readinglady says: "Ignore the wattage. Most companies list the watts a mixer pulls from the outlet. Wattage is not a reliable indicator of power"
This is incorrect. No, don't ignore the wattage because power is what wattage tells you; it is is precisely a measure of power.

3) The Hobart (commercial) mixers differ from others in that they use a geared transmission. This is a set of gears just like the ones in your car. For a heavy load, like going uphill in your car, you shift to the low gear to avoid over-stressing or overheating the motor. Lower gear settings give lower mixing speeds.

The consumer mixers don't have gears. Rather, they produce different speeds via an electrical switch similar to a lighting dimmer. The different speeds here aren't to allow for load size, but for different mixing options - slow for cake batter, high for egg whites, etc. This arrangement does nothing to protect you against overheating the motor.

If your motor is overheating, that's a sign saying you have too much stuff in the bowl. A mixer with a 5 qt bowl or 6 qt bowl doesn't mean you can load it with 5 or 6 quarts of anything. A mixer could have a ten gallon bowl, but if it has a toy motor it might only mix a handful of bread dough.

The difficult thing here is, sad to say, that you can get some hints at a forum such as this one, but in the end you will buy something based on a best guess. If you plan to make large batches of heavy dough, regardless of how often, you may be well advised to go for the highest power machine you can get.

Also, mentioning the Hobart mixers is academic for most of us. Hobart is now commecial only and mighty expensive; Hobart no longer makes the Kitchen Aid machines. A Hobart mixer would be great, but you're talking about $2,000 plus.

Ok I'm here again to tout and flout the superior mixing capabilities of the Bosch Universal mixers as compared to the KitchenAid or Cuisinart.
Simply put they just work better, they can knead up to 10 cups of flour no problem. They're easier to use because the bowl sits over the motor there's nothing above it to get in the way and the machine itself is only 11 pounds so anyone can lift it an put it away.
Go Bosch
I think they should pay me for my endorsements LOL

I know a number of people with the old Hobart KA and the newer ones who give them heavy use and all agree the KA is NOT what it used to be. They're now "consumer" or "residential" level. But they bank on people just plain not using them much so the weaknesses won't show for years. A couple of people I know have said they'll never buy or suggest a KA stand mixer again. Though still useful for a lot of things, they're a lot more of a status symbol.

I wanted one so badly about 10-15 years ago but when I really thought about it I couldn't justify the cost. Now I'm glad I didn't get one.

Every time I watch the cooking shows or something where they're using the KA mixers and I watch them dumping flour and other ingredients all over the counter I just wonder what the fascination is with them. Seldom does anyone use the pouring spouts - they seem to be more trouble than they're worth. And it seems the best bet is to measure the ingredients onto paper and then pour it in as best you can.

Another vote here for the Bosch Universal mixer. I own both a KitchenAid Artisan mixer and a Bosch mixer and there is no comparison, as far as I am concerned.

I've had a KA bowl lift model for 14 years and love it. I do keep it out on my counter underneath my baking cabinet. I like that it matches my FP, which is also on the counter.
(And that's about all that's on the counters, btw)

If I had to put away the mixer each time, I would consider the bosch because it's lightweight.
Otherwise, I'm drawn to shiny, purty colored things!

If the choice is between a KA or a Bosch then my vote also goes to the Bosch. Mine provided over 20 years of heavy-duty bread mixing/kneading with narry a problem. The only reason I purchased the Magic Mill DXL 'Assistant' is because my needs were changing & I wanted a machine designed specifically for bread. KAs are a PITA to use, IMO. It amuses me to watch folks trying to load the bowls. 'Course, I'm easily amused & not swayed by pretty colors.

/tricia