I also have an ancient KitchenAid K-45SS. It keeps going. In part
because I read the manual. And in part because its bread making
duties have been taken over by my Electrolux DLX. It's sold in some
parts of the world as an Assistent, and in others as the Magic Mill
(which makes no sense whatsoever, since it isn't a mill).
I've owned a Bosch Universal and after several unhappy months sold it
on eBay. I feel that the Electrolux is to the Bosch as the Bosch is
to the KitchenAid. It's pricier, but I make large batches of bagels
with no problems. To paraphrase Frank Herbert, "Bagels are the mixer killer."
We bought the Bosch to act as a light duty mixer for our bakery to
make test batches, to make icings, and the other small things that
weren't really well suited to the 30 quart Hobart or the 50 quart
spiral mixer. The bakery staff begged me to get rid of the Bosch. It
was clunky and hard to use. Further, it overworked the dough.
The Electrolux is more expensive, has a hideous manual, and has a
learning curve. However, it is an awesome mixer.
--
*Bake With Mike <http://www.bakewithmike.com>*
Mike Avery
Email to:mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
A Randomly Selected Food Saying Of The Day:
"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook"
-Julia Child