Does anyone have a Cuisinart stand mixer or have an opinion on it even if you don't? Is this a new product? Is it serious competition for the three superstars: Bosch, Magic Mill, and Kitchen Aid?

I have it, bought it a few months ago. It is new. I never used a kitchenaid so i can't compare, but it doesn't work for making challah (which is all i use it for). i think i have a 5.5 quart bowl, and it can't handle kneading even 8 cups of flour. the dough climbs up the bowl and stops the paddle from turning.
i think i can find a good link for you with a review of it - let me look.

That was my next question, if it works for making challah. I actually saw the 7 qt. advertised; I wonder if that would work better. Does it seem like it has the horsepower for mixing thick challah dough? You don't have to look for a review as I'm not really in the market for one, just curious about it.

http://forums.cooking.com/showthread.php?t=1632

Yes the motor can handle it. But the bowl cannot, even though it states on the box that it has capacity for batches of bread dough up to 12 cups.

and i need to make challah this week so i don't ch"v die in childbirth like my namesake rochel imeinu!

My 7 qt. KitchenAid died when trying to make too much challah (5 lbs. of flour).
If you would mainly use it for Challah, get the Magic Mill.
I use a cheap hand mixer for cakes at this point (I still haven't gotten a Magic Mill, so I make small batches of challah in a bread machine).
If you mainly want cakes, and still want a stand, it should suffice, and then make the challah in small batches (or by hand as I used to do )

You know it doesn't work that way, right?


I know someone who burnt out their KitchenAid making challah, but it was years ago, and I was hoping that today's KitchenAids are made better. I guess they're not. What about the Bosch? When I did research of Bosch vs. Magic Mill, most people voted for the Bosch. The rule of thumb was Bosch for challah, Magic Mill for cakes, so it depends what you make more. I think if I would be setting up shop today, I would use a KitchenAid for cakes and a bread machine for challah, at least at the beginning, when I'm not making big quantities.

I think that today's Kitchenaids are actually made worse, because they used to be made domestically out of metal and now they are made in Mexico or India or China out of plastic. They discuss this topic on one of my other favorite message boards, www.chow.com, they have a cooking equipment board which has really helpful advice.

i'm beginning to think no stand mixer can handle kneading a stiff challah dough and i'm thinking of getting a bread maker too. wait but then would i still get the mitzvah?
i've actually been wanting to start a topic on what stand mixers everybody uses for challah.

right now the belly gets in the way. but even not pregnant, i'm too short to knead dough on my counter. i can't get enough leverage.

I heard the opposite -- that the Magic Mill isn't the best for cakes.My mother in law loves her magic mill and makes 5 lbs. of flour every week. Cookie dough, though, she makes in her food processor. (I don't think she's baked a non-bar cake in years).I've heard mixed things on the Bosch, but mostly positive, only a few negative.I looked into Delonghi/Kenwood 7 qt. professional mixer as well, but I don't think it can stand 5 lbs. of flour, though it can make other decent sized batches of challah.That's what stools are for.

I have a kitchenaid artisanal that I think is 5 qt and i love it. It is powerful and looks extremely sexy on my countertop. It does not, however, hold a 5 lb. bag of flour to make a full batch of challah.

They're made out of plastic? Wow. The one we have is made out of metal; I assumed they were all like that. A bread machine won't help you for getting the mitzvah because you can't fit enough in there for that (at least not any standard-sized bread machine).

I hope you're wrong that there's no stand mixer that can handle mixing challah dough. So far the KitchenAid is out, Cuisinart is out, Delonghi is out. And I don't like the Bosch (the pieces just seem very cumbersome and bulky to me). I haven't heard such rave reviews on the Magic Mill. So what's left?


Food processor? Very interesting. I would never think to do that. Btw, how do you whip up egg whites with a hand mixer? Isn't that annoying? That's not only for cakes, but for desserts as well.

I mean the motor and gear housing part is plastic and used to be metal. my cuisinart mixer is all plastic - looks like white painted metal wtih shiny chrome accents but it's not, it's a trick. so sneaky.

I've heard of the magic mill from frum people who use it for challah but i've never seen it in a store. Even a 7qt. bowl could not handle 5 lbs of flour.
5 lbs. of flour every week is just way too much challah for us. DH is on a low-carb diet and I do eat a lot, but not that much.
So you're telling me I have to make that much to get the mitzvah?

I put the bowl on a kitchen chair or a card table. I can't either comfortably knead on the counter.

You have to ask your LOR. There are different minimum shiurim. You can make enough to get the mitzvah and then freeze the extra, or you can give it away. But yeah, making enough for the mitzvah would make too much for most people.

I don't know anything that's left. There are very few good motors on home mixers that can handle a whole lot of stiff bread dough.

My hand mixer has 3 types of beaters -- regular, dough, and whisk. I use the whisk for egg whites.

Magic Mill is terrible for cakes. No planetary action, plastic bowl, ugh just bad. For cakes, you want a KA. I have a Kenwood (DeLonghi in the US) and I preferred my KA. In any case, you need that style of mixer, with planetary action (beater rotates in one direction, but moves around the bowl the other way). This gets the maximum amount of air into the mixture. A Magic Mill or Bosch has a fixed beater which stays in the centre.

The top rated KA can supposedly handle 14 cups of flour, not sure I'd try it.

The gearing on the KA Professional is still metal; the Artisan is plastic.

If I were really serious, and had the $$$, I'd buy a 10 quart commercial Hobart. (Not sure how much their 5qt model can handle--they're selling it for home use now).

BTW wattage ratings are meaningless--I forget exactly how the physics works, but what you really want is a horsepower rating, like a Hobart. And it's not about the capacity of the bowl; it's the strength of the motor. A 7qt bowl would be more than adequate if the motor could handle that much dough.

I use a Bosch with 6lbs of flour. I get 8 20oz. Challos for 4 weeks time. I freeze the challos once it cools down and they are delicious...