Lou - I use mine so seldom that I don't think I have any valuable input. Yes, my pizza dough rides up the hook; I think I saw a tip to oil the hook and it won't happen, but I haven't tried it.

Anyway, the reason for my response is just to point out that in case you prefer it, I saw that Wms Sonoma is now selling a lift model that seems to be the equivalent of the Artisan, same 325 Watts but lift instead of tilt. Same price.

I had the Artisan and made a lot of bread and danish with it, and it did struggle sometimes with dough, especially if I was making bread. My son was over one day when I was mixing bread dough and decided I needed a more powerful mixer, he got me the Pro 600, it doesn't struggle with anything I make.

Agree with momj. the Pro handles bread well. I use it for that all the time, among many other things. it gets a good workout at my house. I can't compare it to the artisian because the Pro is all I've ever owned, and despite it being loud, I'd buy another.

Lori and Mom: Sounds Good I might go with the Pro.
Do you have any problem with the dough riding up the dough Hook.
That's what I'm concerned about.
With the commercial mixers, I never had this problem.
When the dough was mixed, it was a ball at the bottom of the bowl
and the side of the bowl was clean.

Any more inputs ??? Don't be bashful !!!!!
LOU

Honestly, if I forget to oil the hook, yes, it will sometimes ride up (although the sides will be clean once it gets going.) Not bad, though, and not at all if I grease it (usually spray some Pam.

I guess I haven't noticed whether the dough rides up or not on mine. If it has, it hasn't bothered me. I love mine. Yes, it does struggle with large batches of dough, I noticed, and I've had to take the dough out of the mixer and hand knead to finish it off. I do have to scrape the sides pretty frequently, though, which can be a pain, but compared to the decades old sunbeam I used to have to constantly scrape and babysit, my KA is a dream to use. If I made a lot of bread with it, I'd probably want to upgrade to the heavier-duty ones like Momj and Lori suggested.

Sally

Lou, I'm not sure which model you now have but the Artisan is the smallest KA... 4 1/2 qt bowl and the mixer tilts. The 5qt and the 6 qt are larger. One thing you want to check is the watts.

I have had the 5qt and now have the 6qt pro... never have had problems with the dough climbing. Somewhere I remember reading that you have added enough flour when there is about a 2" circle of dough in the bottom of the bowl when making reg bread dough. The sides of the bowl should be clean. That's been my 'rule of thumb' for many years. If I want a softer dough then I know there will be more in the bottom of the bowl.

Here's a link for the KA forum about dough climbing. Peek around the forum though...it's pretty interesting.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: KA forum

Hi everyone: I just put an order in for the KA Pro Model
It was only $10 more, than the Artisan ( after rebate )
I think it will work out fine.If it don't I'll blame Lori.
Thanks for all your help

LOU

LOL...no problem, Lou. We have 5 kids. I'm used to it being all my fault. LOL

Congratulations. I hope you like it. At least you know you got a good deal.

Lori: 5 kids ????? It can't be all your fault. LOL!
I think I got a good deal and it's all your fault
Your right !!!
LOU

Lou,

Would you give me a review once you get to put it through its paces? I'm ready to replace my 18-year-old KA, but want a mixer that can actually handle bread dough. Since you experienced the same issue I had, I'd love to hear what you think of the 600.

Thanks!

Sharon

Lori how do you have time to be on the CF with five kids! Hats off to you!

AnnT has a Magic Mill (I think thats what its called) for her large bread batches. DH is eyeing it.

Sharon: I will let you know!!! It hasn't been shipped yet,maybe today.
Do you still love me ??? Don't tell anyone. Especially Katheen.
LOU

My dough did ride up the dough hook on my Artisan, as well as the flat beater when I was making a lot of cookie dough. I haven't had any problems with the Pro.

Enjoy your new mixer.

LOL, good point, Lou. I have my DH to blame too. ;)

Jessy, now you know why my visits are so sporadic sometimes. It's particularly chaotic these days. I miss you guys!

I have the 600 and the only time I've had problems with the dough riding up the hook is when doing a really big batch of bread dough - one that was right around the 14 cups of flour capacity of the mixer.

Make sure to hand wash the beater and dough hook - they aren't suppose to go in the dishwasher. If you do put them in the dishwasher, the detergent reacts with the metal and they get a bit rough which may contribute to dough riding up. At first I didn't realize that and we did put them in the DW. After switching to hand-washing, they are smooth again and work better.

I just got a KA Pro (must have been the same sale at Amazon--look, this one is bigger for just a little bit more! says the spouse). I can't comment really having never had a stand mixer except to say it sounds like a jet on high speed, but louder. And it cleans up nicely.

And, gee, who knew a stand mixer was so much more fun than a hand mixer?

Lou,

SMMOOOOCH. I really appreciate it. Can't wait to hear your review!

Sharon S.

Sharon; Smmoooooch, right backatcha !
I got the mixer today and unpacked it.
The color is Meringue I like it better than White.
It ia larger than the Classic.
Now I have to mix some bread dough, so I can give you a review.
LOU

{{!gwi}}

I'm sure you will enjoy that mixer, I really like mine.

Lou....I see Tastykakes behind the box, my favorite. Can't buy them around here....yum, yum, yum!

Nancy

Nancy: How did you spot them ???
Email your address, I'll mail you some.
LOU

Lou - I too will be interested in your review. As I posted earlier this week, mine is 30 years old and starting to show it's age. I used it for bread today and I thought I smelled oil burning. OH NO! And are the beaters all Stainless Steel on the Pro? That would be better then the coated ones that I keep replacing. Thanks.
Clare

Is the dough hook aluminum????

Rita

Hey that looks just like my new one! My toddler ran out of the room in terror when I pulled it out of the box.

The hook, whisk, and beater are metal--no coatings. I don't know what they are but they seem too heavy to be just aluminum.

Lou,

So, I looked at Amazon and I see that they have the meringue on sale, but white is full price. The meringue looks an awful lot like white to me! What's the difference?

So, do you love it? Is it horribly noisy? Inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

KitchenAid says the metal beaters are burnished aluminum. The Pro models have a spiral dough hook that works the dough vertically while the other models have a C-shaped dough hook that works it horizontally. They aren't interchangeable.

Carol

Hi Everyone: I didn't have time for dough last night,so
I made 3 pounds of Meatballs and baked them. It was a breeze.

Don't know if it was the mixer or the ingredients but
they were the best I ever tasted. Not because I made them.

Don't ask , for the recipe , because I winged it but I could measure it all out , if someonre wants it.

I might try some dough today.

Sharon : Yes, I love it.
I edited the photo and may have made it a little too light.
It is a couple of shades off White ( Eggshell).
I like it better than pure White. It is a warmer color.

You should get the Pro but make sure you get the $50 Bebate.
It was $209 with the Rebate.
I had a problem with that, because I would come to a dead end.
Couldn't get the Rebate form to come up ,so I could print it out.
Finally, I asked Customer Service, just to print one and
send it to me by regular Mail.
The Amazon CS number is hard to come by , 1-866-216-1072,
Rebate number is 1- 800- 324- 5808. Save these!!

The beaters seem to be an Alluminum Alloy, maybe for strength.
But they seem heavier than Alluminum.
Hope all your Questions were answered.
LOU

Thanks for the reminder--I really need to do my rebate too.

I got white errr meringue also. It's pretty much almost white! Has a little extra pearly sparkle to it I think. It will definitely match anything white, but it's an upgraded white.

I guess I should try making my cinnamon rolls with it...

Thanks, Lou! I'm so glad that you love it. $209 was a great price.

I sorta wanted a color (my old one is white). The red one looks so cheerful--but maybe it will be harder to keep looking clean. It looks like the meringue would now be $249 w/ the rebate--looks like they raised the price.

A friend of mine works at a kitchen store that sells them, and she gets a pretty significant discount--but it's less for appliances. I was hopeful there for a minute!

Here's a page with printable links to all current KitchenAid rebates (through Dec. 31).

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Official KitchenAid Rebate Forms

Carol : I used that link and all the other links they gave me.
I went around the world and came to a dead end , abiut 5 times.
That's when I asked them to print a rebate form and mail it to me.
And that's why I posted the phone numbers, so others could do the same.

Sharon : Try again. Type in the prices for the $209 rebate,
Maybe it will come up.
LOU
Lou

That's odd. I just clicked on it and it came right up. Maybe something in your security settings?

Carl

So does this tilt or lift? I can't ever decided which I'd prefer. I know I'd get frustrated easily if I can't get into the bowl well.

The Pro bowl lifts. It's been an adjustment for me after all those years of a tilt-head. I keep reaching out and doing the wrong thing.

I'm short but haven't had any problem with the bowl (or no more than tilt-heads). That beater is always going to get in the way a little.

The bowl's wider and not as deep as some really big bowls, so it's easier to reach in and stir.

Carol

Hey Lou...thanks for the Tastykakes offer, that's sweet of you. With all the goodies around right now, I'm going to hold off...but I'll email you someday if I really have a craving.

Nancy

The tilt heads are the lower power models handling up to 8 or 9 cups of flour at a time. The lift bowl models have higher power and handle 11 to 14 cups of flour depending on the model.

I don't think there is much difference in bowl access but I've always used a bowl-lift model - if I drop the bowl, I can get in to scrape the sides when needed. Both the tilt head and bowl lift KAs use a planetary beater motion and a stationary bowl. It doesn't need much scraping as the beater covers the bowl well when properly adjusted.

Also, if you're considering tilt-head or lift, think about how much clearance you have between the counter and cabinets. I couldn't even use the lift bowl style at our last house because our wall cabinets were apparently hung by Herbe Villachaize (Tattoo from Fantasy Island.)

The bowl lift KAs are 16.5" and the tilt heads with the head down are just under 14", but when using the tilt head you need clearance to tilt the head up - their shorter height might help if you had them live under an upper cabinet but pulled them out from under to use.

Hi everyone:
I'm testing my new KA PRO today. I made dough, for Sicilian, Calebrese Pizza with a stuffed Crust,
with it and it worked great. No Dough riding up the Hook.
When it was done mixing, There was a ball of dough in the bottom of the bowl.
I took it out and put it in a SS bowl, sprayed some Pam and
threw a damp cloth over it and put it into a warmed oven to rise.
I'll take some pictures as I go thru each step.
Maybe I'll put a Thread in the WFD Post too.
LOU

I put a Thread in the WFD #257 post , on the Pizza.
LOU