In reply to Dan with questions about the Kitchen Aid professional model:
I've never tried the Kitchen Aid pro so can't help you there but I did buy
and use a Kenwood 7Qt at work - cooking for about 40 people. At home I use
the 1964 Hobart mixer (precursor to current Kitchen Aid) that I learned to
bake with at my mother's knee. I remember at age 13 making a triple batch
of Toll House cookies and watch the mixer fall onto the floor and keep on
mixing! I bake bread recipes with 3 1/2 c. of water and 8-9 c. of flour
with no problem start to finish. I tried the Kenwood with the same recipe
and found the 7Qt bowl to be nothing more than a glorified splash guard.
The mixer quit and I spent 10 minutes sweating trying to figure out how to
tell my boss I'd killed the $400 machine I had just talked her into!! I
found the reset button, kneaded the rest by hand and ever after made much
smaller recipes! Maybe someone else has had better luck with the Kenwood........