I own two Hobart KitchenAid mixers, a K45 (4-1/2 quarts, 250 watts),
purchased in 1975, and a K5SS (5 quarts, 300 watts), purchased in 1983.
Both mixers have been subject to heavy use and both are used extensively for
kneading yeast breads. I prefer the smaller K45 mixer for recipes which
use 4-1/2 cups of flour or less. In fact, the larger K5SS mixer does not
perform to my satisfaction on very small batches (3 cups of flour or less).
These mixers are the only "bread machines" I have ever wanted and neither
has ever overheated. I do observe the rules in the instruction booklet:
1) Never use for recipes with more than 8 cups of flour;
2) Don't prepare more than two bread recipes consecutively;
3) Allow mixer to rest 45 minutes after heavy use.
My procedure for handling very heavy dough is that once the dough has been
thoroughly mixed and clears the bowl, I cover it with plastic wrap and let
the dough relax for 15 minutes before attempting to knead it. If the dough
is particularly stiff, I knead one-half at a time.
Whirlpool now owns the KitchenAid brand, and while I cannot vouch for the
quality of their current mixers, I have noticed they are used on the sets of
cooking shows on PBS and the Food Network. Also, George Greenstein, author
of "Secrets of a Jewish Baker", uses and recommends the KitchenAid, model
K5SS. Each yeast bread recipe in the book includes directions (with a 50%
increase in quantity of ingredients) specifically for use with the mixer.
If you have a small family or limited freezer space, the standard volume
recipes work just fine with the mixer.