KitchenAid Artisan Mixer vs. KitchenAid Pro Mix
Okay -- so I am the last hold out in American of all the bakers who still does not have a KitchenAid Stand milxer. Baking has never really been something I'm great at, only because it is such an exact science, but it is time. I must master it and I'm sure either of these mixers would be better than the hand-held I currently use. Tips, ideas, comments??????
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13 Comments:
i have the artisan and i love it. it also isn't just for baking. i use mine for everything - even mashed potatoes. check out ebay. sometimes you can get them as overstock for dirt cheap. i think i got mine for about $125 shipping included (in box with valid warranty).
lexophile at 9:32PM on 11/17/07
I have a pro 5 qt. It's wonderful. I got it on Amazon, they have factory refurbished ones cheap. I think it was about $130 a year ago, with a 6 month warranty
rwobin at 10:00PM on 11/17/07
I own both... The Artisan has nylon gears and the Pro has steel. I managed to strip the gears of the Artisan when I was making pasta dough (stupid, I know). I found out that they are actually designed to strip to save the motor in the event of extreme stress (like kneading pasta dough!) Eventually, I found a repair manual and for $24 I bought the part and fixed it.
The Pro series has a mechanism which will shut it off if it is stressed, thus allowing for the inclusion of steel gears (which are not designed to strip).
I like to use the artisan for kneading single loaves. I really think it handles small mixtures better than the Pro 5. On the other hand, I can knead something like 6 loaves worth of bread dough in the Pro 5.
My Pro 5 came with a "power knead" spiral dough hook, which is a little
different than the traditional hook of the Artisan. I have found that I can knead on a lower power with the spiral hook than I can with the traditional, which helps to keep the temperature of your dough from rising as you knead (and causing excessive oxidation of your dough).
Honestly, if I could only have one, I would probably go back to the Artisan, as I don't often take advantage of the greater capacity of the Pro 5.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 10:28PM on 11/17/07
Pro is the only way to go.
Prairie at 10:47PM on 11/17/07
I agree with Domini, I've got the Pro and find its better with larger quantities. with small quantities it doesn't seem to be able to fully incorporate the ingredients as well. If you don't plan on making 5 loaves of bread at a time your better off with the Artisan.
Cheyanne at 7:47AM on 11/18/07
We have an older lift head, and I just got a Pro 5 Plus this year. I never use the older one anymore, the spiral dough hook (if you make bread PLEASE make sure you get a model with the spiral dough hook as not all bowl lifts have it) is the greatest thing EVER!
I love the wider bowl on the pro 5 plus, I love the bowl-lift, I especially love the good food I've turned out using "Willis!" I use it for very small batches and don't have any issues, and I definitely like the larger capacity and higher wattage as I'm a bread maker too and felt the older one would give out everytime I made bread in it. (Though it didn't which is a true testament to KitchenAid qualilty!)
I got mine on QVC. If you want refurbed like the above poster said you can check Amazon, but beware sometimes their descriptions don't match and I was told they don't guarantee which one you get, and I ONLY wanted the Pro 5 Plus since it has the spiral dough hook. Kitchenaid.com also sells refurbed (and new) and I came pretty close to going that route, until I saw them on QVC and got a free attachment rebate coupon that made it too hard to pass up the new one.
If you're going to start pie/tart baking I'd also highly recommend the KitchenAid 12-cup food processor!
Good luck, I'd say you really can't go wrong here seeing as it's KitchenAid, but if you plan on bread baking I'd say the Spiral Dough Hook is far better than what's on the Artisan.
bobcatsteph3 at 7:53AM on 11/18/07
We have the Pro (now 10+ years old), and my sister has the Artisan (about 4 years old). Have to say that the Pro just seems sturdier, though the older version doesn't have the nice feature of the lift head. My husband regularly makes pizza and bread dough in the Pro, and I use it for pretty much all baking-related desserts (cookies, brownies, cakes, frosting, etc.). It's never had any trouble.
jenberger at 7:59AM on 11/18/07
I have the Pro, and I love it! On the other hand, if you don't bake a lot, the Artisan does come in many more pretty colors (my pro is white, which looks nice, but is not incredibly striking).
Still, if you aren't a regular baker, I don't know if either is really worth the expense. I might spend my money on a new Le Creuset or something like that instead. Just my two cents, so if you really want the mixer, go for it! Both models are fantastic!
ChristineB at 9:31AM on 11/18/07
My refurbed Pro has held up to weekly use for 15 years.
If it should ever break, (or, more likely. get stolen), I'd get another Pro with More Power!
srhcb at 11:13AM on 11/18/07
We have the artisan for about 3 years now and it has never failed us. We use it for everything from cookies to pizza dough. We have started making a lot more bread since we purchased it because it is much easier than kneading the dough by hand. I have never had a situation where the artisan seemed to small or weak to handle the job.
smorgen at 1:05PM on 11/18/07
Thanks for all your suggestions and experiences. I will let you know once I decide. I especially appreciate the tips about purchasing at a lesser cost. I have never considered myself a baker but really want to start to tackle that science so perhaps the Pro is the way to go.
jude03 at 8:38PM on 11/18/07
Do keep in mind what previous commenters said about the quantities: unless your serious interest in learning to bake comes with a serious commitment to regularly turning out large quantities of baked goods, you might be better off with the Artisan. I have one, and I've done bread, pastas, cakes, cookies, etc., with it. I bake a lot (2 or more times a week), and I use the Artisan for things like mashed potatoes as well, and I've never thought that I should have gone with the bigger model.
The only time my mixer couldn't handle the batter was for a 16inch cake for a wedding. But the Pro wouldn't have handled that much batter, either (need an industrial mixer or--gasp--a really big bowl and a handheld). But for the 12inch on down, no problem.
You definitely don't need the Pro to get started (and even continue for many years) baking.
ren at 2:04AM on 11/20/07
Oh, and you will probably want to find a good illustrated book or online source for learning to mix doughs by any method. A stand mixer is, of course, faster and more powerful than the handheld. If you're still learning to bake, you'll need a good teaching guide to show you what to look for (under/overmixing can have serious consequences for cakes), and no mixer will tell you that.
One web resource I like is baking911.com. The layout and organization is a bit confusing, but there's a lot of information--and photos--there.
ren at 2:10AM on 11/20/07