Bread-Bakers v100.n074.17

 >I'm presently considering the Kenwood KM800, the Magic Mill DLX-2000, and
 >the Bosch.  I would like to hear from anyone who has had experience with
 >these or any other machines that they would recommend for dough
 >kneading.

Earlier this summer I went through a similar dilemma, having used my KA
for bread baking the last two years or so. I ran into little difficulties
until I moved from a three cup recipe to a 6 cup. Although my machine
didn't die it sounded like it was on it's last leg and had a very nasty
habit of moving all over the counter and onto the floor :-( thus
beginning my search for a new machine.

Initially I was looking to replace the KA altogether so I tried out the
Kenwood M800 from Cooking.com. Unfortunately my machine arrived slightly
damaged with scratches and a cracked cover, though I was able to try it
out for a couple of weeks while awaiting another mixer. There are both
things I liked and disliked about the Kenwood. Overall it made terrific
whole grain bread, the most beautiful loaves I've ever turned out. I use
exclusively whole grains in my baking so this was significant to me. The
bowl capacity was more than adequate for my needs as I usually make no
more than two loaves at a time, though I had no problem with the 9 C
recipe I tried in the Kenwood. I also was able to mix up small amounts of
ingredients thoroughly which was a concern I had about larger machines
like the MM and Bosch. The drawbacks were the loudness of the Kenwood and
the length of time it took to get my whole wheat dough to develop,
upwards of 20 minutes on a 6 C recipe. Since I can knead up my own 6 C
recipe in that amount of time, I thought a machine should do better!

After quite a few trials with the Kenwood, I decided to try out the Magic
Mill DLX as I felt it was really designed with bread making in mind,
something I didn't believe about the Kenwood. I am sure the Kenwood would
hold up over time, just not as long as a Magic Mill. This is my personal
very subjective opinion of course. I've had the MM since early August and
am very happy with it. I decided to keep my KA as it still works, just
not for bread. I've made cookies in the MM with no problems and will
further test this out in the coming baking weeks. I make whole wheat
bread on a twice-weekly basis and am happy with the results. The machine
is quiet and very easy to clean. I do enjoy being able to see into the
top of the bowl quite easily as it's kneading. It is a different way of
kneading than the other machines I was used to and this took me some time
to learn - but I've never had to worry about it walking off the counter!!

If you have more questions, please let me know. I never considered a
Bosch as I didn't have the counter space and didn't need a blender. I
also looked briefly at the larger KA that's newer on the market, but
having the other KA problems I really wanted to try something else.

hope this helps,

paula countryman