I bought my wife the 5.5Qt lift bowl model number "KV25mexer5" from Costco. It has all steel gears. I got when they had basically 2 sales on it at same time. $50 off from KA and $30 off from Costco so we paid $249.00 total. For $250 it is probably the best choice you can find for a mixer, we have not had any problems with ours after 5 months of use so far. Hasn't had any problem making a 3 cup batch of bread dough using the dough hook and on speed 2 like it says to do. So far for us and especially for the price it was the best deal for our needs. It is loud but so is every other mixer in this power range. It seems rather solid, no grinding, everything works smoothly. I seriously looked at the Bosch Universal which is definitely a better mixer especially if you make a lot of large 6+ cup dough batches. But for the one I would buy (stainless bowl with blender) is $550 on sale. So more than double the price. For how much we use a mixer this Costco KA was our best deal by far, plus the added perk of if anything happens to it the first year or maybe even longer we could just take it right back for a full refund or replacement with no hassles. IF you use the hell out of a mixer though I would pay the extra and get the Bosch Universal. As far as where the KA "Stand Mixers" are made they are actually made in Greenville OH. The KA hand mixers are however made in China. But like most everything else made in China it is made there under the exact specifications that the American Company wants, unfortunately that happens to be cheap as humanly possible which is why they are made there. IF the American company stated we want the best possible mixer you can make and stated exactly what they wanted, what materials to use etc that is exactly what they would get from China. So while everyone continually puts the blame on China it really has next to nothing to do with them. It is the American company that purposely wants crap at the cheapest price possible.

Dear Bluekitobsessed, I don't think it's overkill to have both. A FP will perform many of the tasks that a mixer will perform, but a serious baker will want a mixer. Reasons include: - Mixers are generally better for larger batches of doughs and batters & a good mixer will handle some of the heavier doughs like biscotti or pasta dough better. - The whisk attachment on the mixer is better for aerating things like whipped cream and meringues. The variable speed is also a help, especially with meringues, as a real baking geek will start out at slow speed and then raise speed for better volume. (I'm momentarily forgetting the science behind this - I'll of course remember it right after I hit the submit button.) You're not going to be making souffls with your FP. - The paddle and dough hook attachments are more gentle for making artisan breads where you don't want to work the dough as aggressively as a food processor might even with the dough blade. For the same reason, you can use the mixer's paddle attachment to "whip" a large batch of mashed potatoes, whereas the food processor will give them a wall paper paste like texture because a sharper blade can damage the gelatinized starch granules. (I've never forgotten the shock of wrecking a batch during a graded final in cooking school.) - I like a mixer with paddle attachment for cookie doughs that have nuts and/or choc chips because it's less likely to crush them provided you add them at the end and mix just a tiny bit more. I also think the mixer bowl is easier to scrape (It can also be a help to have more than one mixer bowl). - Another advantage of mixer bowls is you can put them in ice baths to quickly cool and hot water baths to heat or apply a gentle flame to them which can be helpful for Swiss and Italian meringues or melting chocolate. I confess I've been known to hit the outside of the mixer bowl briefly with a kitchen blowtorch in order to soften butter I'm creaming if it's just a little too hard. (If it's a lot too hard this isn't a great idea.) - Mixers have some cool attachments that FPs don't have. You can grind meat and make/stuff homemade sausages with the right mixer attachments (The FP is sometimes better for grinding/emulsifying, but you can't stuff sausages with it. There are pasta rollers and cutters you can attach to your mixer that are very cool. There's even an ice cream maker sleeve that you can put in your freezer and then use to churn homemade ice cream. FPs, however, have slicing attachments that mixers don't and I love the grating wheel FP attachment - It's a big time saver if you're grating a lot of cheese. To me these are just a few of the reasons a well equipped kitchen will have both a FP and a quality mixer. I don't know what mixer to recommend to you. I have an old (Hobart era) KitchenAid that I love, but the new ones I've used aren't great and KitchenAid doesn't provide good customer service if something goes wrong. The Kenmoore mixers of 6-8 years ago (I also have two of these) were great, but quality dropped after Delonghi took them over. I don't have experience with the Cuisinart Mixers. I do subscribe to Cooks Illustrated online and highly recommend them. They just updated their mixer reviews this March & liked the Cuisinart, so if I had to buy now, I'd first go garage sale hopping to try to find a Hobart era KitchenAid and failing that I'd take a chance on the Cuisinart. Here's what Cook's Illustrated said: "The KitchenAid Professional 600 ($399.95), earned its spot on the test kitchen counter in 2005 for mastering tasks that ranged from churning cookie dough and kneading bread and pizza dough to whipping air into heavy cream and egg whites. We wondered how three newer models would compare. The West Bend 12-Speed Stand Mixer ($99.99) was disqualified during round one (kneading bread dough) when its dough hook caused the machine to shudder so fiercely it almost fell off the counter. Brawnier rivalsÂthe Cuisinart 5.5 Quart Stand Mixer ($349) and the Wolfgang Puck Bistro Stand Mixer ($249.90)Âwhisked their way through all manner of tasks (though the Wolfgang Puck machine tended to tremble while kneading). Both models sport an ingenious disk that caps their nonstick dough hook and prevented pizza dough from riding up and sticking, as it did in the KitchenAid. Add that to CuisinartÂs handful of modern perks and itÂs clear why this mixer has overthrown KitchenAid for a place on our countertop. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Cuisinart 5.5 Quart Stand Mixer Price: $349 Source: www.cooking.com Comments: In addition to acing its way through heavy tasks like kneading bread and pizza dough and churning cookie batter full of oats, nuts, and dried fruit, this machine offers a host of modern updatesÂa digital timer with automatic shut-off, a fold function for incorporating ingredients delicately, and a splash guard attachment with a built-in feed tube." Best wishes - HTH!

This is the method I have used for many years when making bread dough in my Kitchenaid stand mixer. The source is Betsy Oppenneer's The Bread Book. Mixing and Kneading Bread in a Heavy Duty Electric Mixer 1.Put dry yeast and proofing water into mixer bowl; whisk, proof yeast. 2.Fit mixer paddle on. 3.Add rest of liquid ingredients (milk, eggs, butter) to the yeast/water. 4.Add half of the flour amount of the recipe and any other dry ingredients. 5.Turn mixer on medium speed (#4 on KA) and beat 2 minutes. 6.Reduce speed to low (#1) and add rest of flour ü cup at a time. 7.Remove paddle, scrape well. Attach dough hook. 8.Scrape down sides of bowl, turn speed to #2 and add more flour 1 TB at a time (dough will cling to hook then spread back to sides of bowl). 9.Increase speed to #4 and knead 5 minutes. At the end of this kneading time the dough should cling to the hook and clean the sides of the bowl. If not, add flour 1 TB at a time, until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. 10.Remove the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, let rise per therecipe ��" or ��" turn out dough, knead by hand a few times, form into a ball, drizzle a little oil in the mixing bowl, put dough in, swirl in bowl and turn oiled side up, cover, let rise.

Bella--I'd love to see the pics of yours, if you don't mind! John--I like the idea of painting the thing. I've had old vintage garden chairs powder coated. Sometimes I think my KA must have a passport it uses to mix a large batch of thick dough the way it shimmies for the door! I thought a commercial kind like this was supposed to be for heavy use. Now I'm considering something like Kate's mixer thread was discussing when I start baking bread again. It might not want to leave me the way my KA does. Nat--I like the idea of it in a pull-out on the top instead of the bottom like Jakabedy's. Melissa--Mine doesn't have a splatter guard. I know what you mean though about having to store it anyway. Macybaby--I don't want to cut into that peninsula space for two reasons--baking and buffet service. I NEED that space. Yours looks great! Thanks for the sourcing tip. Calimama--Yeah, I don't leave the kitchen with the mixer on. Florantha--That black object is my Gaggia espresso machine. The windows were put in a couple of weeks ago. I had considered an appliance garage/hutch there before (I think maybe you suggested it on another of my threds) to hide the Gaggia and still may do that. Putting the mixer there won't work as the baking area is on the opposite side of the kitchen. Will--I need power on that peninsula somewhere. The fridge panel is just that--a cabinet panel--so I can't put an outlet there even though that's the perfect spot. Desertsteph--Thanks for explaining. That makes sense. Joyce--A pullout sounds like a good way to go. Kashmi--I forgot about the decals! So cool, but I don't think it's really me. I like the toaster story!! Jill--Mine was stored a distance from the kitchen before so I don't think I used it as often because I didn't want to drag it out. I can see that if it were really handy, I'd use it more often. Your espresso machine sure dwarfs mine! Motodetroit--That could be the answer for me!! Some of those boxes are much too country for me, but I'm sure I could find the right one. I could leave it on the counter covered. Easy to use when necessary. Keeps the dust off. And then I could tuck it in the pantry when I need the buffet space! Perfect!! Thanks! Thanks for all the great ideas and experiences. It comes down to: Visibility/Accessibility--leaving it on the counter with a possible cover. Not my ideal, but easy to use and it doesn't take up base storage. Storage/Accessibility--using valuable base storage just to get it out of my view but having to lift it out to use, either with a lift or brute strength. Sounds like another form vs. function problem for me! ;)