Have any of the members purchased the newest Kitchenaid 6 qt. mixer? I'm
interested in finding out what others think of it, in particular, the
Professional model which has a 525 watt motor.
I had one for a short time and was extremely discouraged with its
performance. Unlike the previous models, the dough hook or the flat beater
cannot be moved manually. It requires a quick pulse to move it. It also is
quite loud. (Kitchenaid tells me that the reason for this is that the gears
are all metal.) It heats up VERY rapidly. I decided to make some bread with
a 100% whole wheat recipe. I won't bother with the details except that it
had a bit more than 3 cups of liquid and requiresed a bit less than 8 cups
of whole wheat flour. During the first part of the knead it ran fairly
smooth, but when the gluten had become more developed the dough hook often
would contact the dough, pressing it against the wall instead of flopping
it to the side as in the previous models. When that occurred, the motor
would slow down dramatically, showing it was under great stress. After that
happened a few times I stopped the motor and placed the dough in a 5 qt.
Special Edition model of Kitchenaid which has 350 watts. Then the dough
kneaded smoothly for about 5 minutes. Then, the motor slowed down and the
gluten had become quite well developed. I could tell that the dough had
been well kneaded. In the process of making some cookie dough I stopped the
motor to scrape down the sides. I couldn't move the flat beater by hand. I
had to make quick on-off spurts to move it. When I restarted to continue
the thick cookie dough the motor obviously had to strain to get restarted.
Two days later I returned the mixer to the dealer. I believe I will save up
my money and buy a Large (7 qt) version of a Kenwood mixer.
My query about the Kitchenaid is to find out if my opinions are justified
or did I come across an off-the-wall lemon.
Dan