451780 Wed Oct 17 16:11:28 -0700 2007 13 41 Cookware 0 3044410 My husband just bought one for me. I bake frequently, but mostly manageable quantities--most of it fine with a hand mixer. Is this more capacity than I need? I do make bread, by hand right now. Will this stand mixer work for the one batch cookies, cakes, etc.? I don't want to be using my hand mixer most of the time and this on the rarer occasion that I'm making something that requires more power. I want one that works for the bulk of my needs. If you have one, do you find that you can use this all the time? Also, in the past, chowhounds have recommended the tilt head over the drop head. Is that a consideration since this is a drop head? Thanks! Wed Oct 17 16:11:28 -0700 2007 39874 chowser 1 3044455 Hi Chowser-I have the model with the tilt head, much easier to get at the batter IMHO. It is a little less horsepower compared to the drop head and good for everyday use. I use mine anytime I want to make a regular batch of cookies or a birthday cake. The only time I use my hand mixer is to beat heavy cream b/c it usually is a small amount. My kitchenaid lives on my counter in the appliance corner. You will love it and wonder what took you so long to get one. Now to decide what color you want..... Wed Oct 17 16:29:38 -0700 2007 3044410 123913 chocchipcookie 1 3044488 i have the drop head (i think... that's the one where the bowl raises up and down instead of the top, right?) and i LOVE it. i use it for everything: cakes, meringues, whipped cream, bread, cookies, even pie/tart dough sometimes. i suppose some of these things could just as easily be accomplished with a hand mixer, but there's something so luxurious about beating eggwhites and being able to walk around the kitchen and do something else. also, i find that the stand mixer does its job much faster than a hand mixer would. i got mine as my valentines present last year (it's red) and i love it so much that i now refer to baking as "mixing". Wed Oct 17 16:40:19 -0700 2007 3044410 46417 LAcupcake 1 3044503 I have the drop head style mixer and it stays on my counter full time. I use it for just about everything including mixing things like meatloaf and tuna salad for a consistency you cannot obtain either by hand or with a food processor. I can't imagine baking without it. The freedom it allows you to get something across the kitchen while it blissfully mixes is something I couldn't imagine before I had this mixer. It is a great workhorse. I've had mind for about ten years now and it's still going strong. Wed Oct 17 16:48:15 -0700 2007 3044410 135310 BelleJo 2 3044531 I also have the drop head one - and also for about 10 years and love it. It works just fine for small quantities. I say enjoy! Wed Oct 17 16:56:57 -0700 2007 3044503 10985 MMRuth 2 3044542 me too I heart my kitchen aid mixer. There are just 2 of us in our home, and we use it. Wed Oct 17 17:00:24 -0700 2007 3044503 105150 Enorah 1 3044634 One thing the stand mixer does very well that a hand mixer just can't do is to knead bread. Just put on the dough hook, dump the ingredients in the bowl (hold back a cup or two of flour) and combine. Gradually add more flour until the dough comes together, then walk away and let the machine do all the work. (I've got baguettes in the oven right now.) I had the tilt-head until recently, when I traded with my mom for her drop-head (it wouldn't fit under her new cabinets). The tilt-head was a little more convenient, but my standard batch of bread tended to climb out of the bowl. The drop-head has more capacity, so this isn't an issue any more. Wed Oct 17 17:34:54 -0700 2007 3044410 58743 alanbarnes 1 3044713 Thanks, everyone, for the quick responses. It sounds like the drop head is fine. There are things I really could use it for--I can't tell you how often I stand there, for 10 minutes or so holding the mixer, wishing I could be moving around (I do that stretch thing with one hand on the mixer and move as far as I can...). Is the professonal model good for every day type mixing, or is the bowl too big/motor too powerful? Is this far superior to the artisan model for every day type mixing? I probably bake 2 loaves of bread a week and am trying to figure out which is better, given that this costs so much more than the artisan. I have a fairly small kitchen and don't think I can keep this on the counter w/out losing too much space--where do you all keep it, if not on the counter? Thanks so much for all your help. Wed Oct 17 18:04:21 -0700 2007 3044410 39874 chowser 2 3045030 The tilt-heads are a little lighter and more compact than the pro models, so if you're moving the mixer to and from the counter that might be an advantage. For two (1.5 pound) loaves of bread any of them should work just fine. I use my pro model for everyday mixing. Never had a problem with the bowl being to big or the motor too powerful. On the other hand, aside from the aforementioned capacity issues, I never had a problem with the 8-cup model, either. And the cost was even less than the Artisan. Wed Oct 17 20:03:54 -0700 2007 3044713 58743 alanbarnes 3 3047049 I'm interested in your comments on bread-baking. I'm doing it all by hand at the moment, which is fine for most white doughs, but kneading grains into the wholewheat dough takes forever and is so messy. I'm thinking of investing in a mixer for my birthday, but was leaning towards a kenwood as I've seen a colleague's kitchenaid battle with a batch of bread dough. Seriously, I thought the machine was going to fly off the counter, it was making so much noise and vibrating so much. But I think this was the smaller, artisan model. Is this usual in your experience? Thanks. Thu Oct 18 12:22:35 -0700 2007 3045030 10431 Gooseberry 4 3047393 I seem to recall my little 8-cup mixer walking around quite a bit while kneading dough, especially larger batches. The 12-cup model is steadier; that may have something to do with the "screw" style kneader that pushes the dough down toward the bottom of the bowl; the smaller models use a "hook" style, and the dough tends to work its way up the hook. Thu Oct 18 13:42:51 -0700 2007 3047049 58743 alanbarnes 1 3045109 I have a 5-quart drop head that is about 15 years old. I guess it is a professional, as I don't think they had artisan at that time. I LOVE it. The freedom of being able to walk around and not have to hold the hand mixer is great. And I bet that there are few, if any, hand mixers that have the power of a stand mixer. My mom has a 6-quart drop head, I guess an artisan, that's also holding up well, but the bowl is sorta big for some parts of some recipes, but she copes. This is the one kitchen appliance I would pick over all others to keep. Wed Oct 17 20:36:11 -0700 2007 3044410 117292 Shayna Madel 1 3045169 What a great gift! What a thoughtful husband! I've had the "pro" for a couple of years and use it frequently - haven't used the hand mixer in ages. I thought that the Kitchenaid would take up too much counter space until I started using it - now there's no turning back! Keep it, enjoy it, whip some cream, have fun... Wed Oct 17 20:56:07 -0700 2007 3044410 47777 janeh 1 3046036 Thanks, everyone! Your responses have been incredibly helpful. I've decided to keep it, since I could use the larger power at times, and it sounds like it'll be great for every day use, too. I think the first things I'll make are a chocolate mousse cake (takes 10-15 minutes of beating, a long time to be standing there holding a mixer) and this biscotti recipe I have that has burned out more hand mixer motors than I can count. Thu Oct 18 08:20:23 -0700 2007 3044410 39874 chowser