Buying your first stand mixer makes baking feel less work and more fun. New models have stronger motors, easier controls, and improved accessories. Your personal ideal depends on how you cook, how often you bake, and what you expect to get out of baking. So use our best stand mixer guide for a beter decision.
Features to Look for When Buying a Stand Mixer
The best stand mixer feels sturdy, powerful, and easy to use even with your first batch of dough. Brand loyalty matters, but motor strength, bowl size, speed settings, and ease of use with heavy dough are details that can make or break your experience.
Durability is important, too. Cheap plastic doesn’t instantly ruin a mixer, but over time it can wear you down just as much as your mixer. If the head shakes, the attachments don’t scrape well, or cleanup feels like a hassle, you may grow to resent even an attractive mixer.
Best Stand Mixer Guide: Why Motor Strength Is Important
A stand mixer’s motor gets weak fast if it isn’t able to handle your baking projects. Motor strength determines if you can knead heavy dough or whip smooth creams without interruption.
- Heavy dough won’t slow down better motors.
- Cheaper motors might overheat.
- Stand mixers with steady torque make ingredients smoothly.
- Higher quality motors tend to be quieter.
- Bakers who use their mixer often or make large batches should consider strong motors.
The motor size in watts is not the only thing to consider when looking at stand mixer motors. Two motors with the exact same wattage can have very different baking experiences if one has steadier torque.
Best Stand Mixer Guide: Bowl Size Considerations
Before buying a stand mixer, understand your bowl needs instead of wishing for the largest bowl. Families who bake less can get by with smaller bowls. Large bowls excel at making cookies, bread doughs, frostings, and impressive cakes.
A large bowl can also give ingredients room to expand as they whip or become aerated. On the other hand, large bowls are not ideal for people with small countertops.
Useful Attachments to Consider
Attachments allow you to do more with your stand mixer than mix. Attachments like pasta hooks, meat grinders, and shredding devices allow you to expand what you can do with your mixer.
- Flat beater – useful for cakes, cookie doughs, and mashed potato-type mixtures.
- Dough hook – used when kneading bread and pizza dough.
- Whisk – mostly used for whipping cream and buttercream.
- Consider how many attachments you want and if you will use them enough to justify buying them.
- Changing attachments quickly allows you more time to cook.
Purchasing something you know you will use regularly is always a better choice than fancy attachments that will gather dust.
Best Stand Mixer Guide: Features That Make Mixing Easier
Look over features that matter to you because your needs help decide which mixer to buy. Angled head mixers let you reach into the bowl easier. Bowl lift mixers have taller bases and better support when working with heavier dough.
Speed knobs should never catch or hesitate between speeds. This allows you to start slow, preventing ingredients from flying everywhere as the beaters spin. Other features to consider are splash guards, comfortable knobs, and dishwasher-safe parts.
High-end Vs. Mid-range Mixer Builds
Stand mixers can be made well or poorly no matter the price. High-end mixers often use metal instead of plastic. This creates a more durable mixer, but is it better?
- Heavy-weighted bases don’t move while mixing.
- Mid-range mixers often use metal gears as opposed to plastic ones inside.
- Pay attention to the finish as well as style.
- Check to make sure hinges don’t wobble or feel loose.
- Warranties show how confident the manufacturer is in their product.
Expense doesn’t dictate quality every time. High-end mixers can provide a wonderful baking experience and go for many reasons. Don’t rule out mid-range mixers as many provide great performance.
Best Stand Mixer Guide: Picking a Mixer for Yourself
Think about why you want a stand mixer. Are you a baker who wants to make bread more often? Or do you make a wide variety of foods and need something to fulfill all your baking needs?
If you’re going to make bread weekly, you might be better off buying something with heavier torque. If you bake different things on varying degrees you may prefer something totally balanced.
Focus on what you want from baking. Purchase a stand mixer that fits what you feel is important to you.
Best Stand Mixer Guide: Taking Care of Your Stand Mixer
Like anything else, proper maintenance allows your mixer to last longer. Cleaning the exterior of your mixer each time you use it prevents a layer of flour dust from building up on your machine.
Left alone, flour dust in hard to reach places can degrade the mechanics of your mixer. Bake mixes can become very hard to clean if you let them dry. Be sure to clean your mixer attachments and bowl quickly after use.
Periodically go over your mixer and give it a thorough cleaning. Make sure you are inspect the cord, locking mechanism, and gears. These are parts of your mixer that you don’t want fail while you’re using it.
With enough care your mixer should last a long time. A long-lasting mixer means smoother performance because the parts won’t loose motion as fast over time.
