Buying the best stand mixer for bread dough is a great advantage if you want to take your home baking to the next level.
Home baking is a real pleasure, and nothing beats the taste of freshly prepared homemade breads, cakes, and cookies hot from the oven.
However, keen bakers will know the amount of effort that goes into baking and inadequate kitchen tools can make the job harder and longer than it needs to be.
This is why a quality stand mixer for kneading dough is essential for anyone serious about baking. It whips and beats doughs quickly and evenly, saving you time and energy.
But with so many stand mixers on the market, how can you know which one is right for you?
We’ve compiled this complete guide – that doesn’t start and end with Kitchen Aid mixers! – that should help you make the best buying decision for your needs.
Let’s take it away…
Different Types of Stand Mixers
There are two main types of kitchen mixers: hand mixers and stand mixers.
See more: Hand Mixer vs Stand Mixer – Which Should I Use?
Hand mixers usually have two whisk attachments and may also come with additional dough hook attachments.
The benefit of hand mixers is that they are light and portable and don’t take up much room in a cupboard. They are also less expensive than stand mixers but less powerful.
On the other hand, stand mixers are much heavier and are designed to be used on a countertop or table, so they are much more stable and practical when mixing large quantities of weighty ingredients like dough.
Stand mixer attachments include whisks and other attachments such as dough hooks and paddles, and ingredients are mixed directly in the mixer bowl.
Deciding between a hand mixer or a stand mixer is a personal choice, but many bakers prefer a stand mixer’s convenience and added power.
Stand Mixer Parts
A kitchen mixer consists of many different parts which contribute to how effectively the mixer functions.
Here’s a round-up of the most common kitchen mixer parts you’re likely to come across:
Balloon Whisks
Whisks aerate ingredients at the same time as mixing them, so they are ideal for creating a light, fluffy dough or batter or for making meringues.
Most kitchen mixers are equipped with two metal whisks that whip and cream ingredients together.
Dough Hooks
Dough hooks have a special corkscrew shape to knead bread and pastry dough effectively.
They are made from metal and are sturdy enough to handle even the heaviest and thickest dough.
Blades or Paddles
Made from metal, blades or paddles have a dull edge that efficiently beat and mix ingredients together.
Blades perform the same function as a traditional spoon and are used for general mixing but can also take the place of the dough hooks when mixing bread dough.
Splash Guard
A splash guard is essentially a plastic lid that can be attached to the mixing bowl.
It prevents powdered or liquid ingredients from splashing and making a mess and has a hole through which you can add extra ingredients during the mixing process without removing the splash guard.
Motor
Whisks and other attachments are powered by an electric motor that rotates gears inside the kitchen mixer, rotating the attachments at high speed to blend and knead ingredients.
The more powerful the motor, the more vigorously the attachments will turn. Most kitchen mixers have a variety of speed settings.
Generally, the more powerful the motor, the better the kitchen mixer.
Bowl
Stand mixers come with a bowl or container made from metal or plastic, which holds the ingredients being mixed.
Once the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed, the bowl can be removed and cleaned. Some kitchen mixers have bowls of different sizes included.
What to Look for in the Best Stand Mixers For Bread Dough
A kitchen mixer is a serious investment for any baker, so it’s crucial to consider many different factors when deciding which mixer is the best fit for you.
Durability
Kitchen mixers can be expensive, so build quality is extremely important as you need a mixer you can rely on.
A solid motor and quality parts are essential, and it’s worth finding out if it is easy to replace parts should it be necessary to keep your kitchen mixer in top working order.
The best mixers will be with you for years and years, allowing you to bake for every big celebration in your life!
Capacity
If you have a large family or just love baking for large groups of people, the size of the mixer is a chief element to take into account.
Be sure to choose a kitchen mixer with a large enough bowl size and capacity for your baking needs.
On the flip side, if you are mostly baking small batches or don’t plan to use your mixer that often, you might want to choose a smaller product or even a hand mixer.
Ease of Use
As a piece of equipment that will be frequently used, it’s fundamental that a kitchen mixer should be straightforward to use and maintain.
Consider how easy it is to set the mixer up and whether the parts are easy to take apart, as well as if there are sufficiently easy-to-use functions rather than a bunch of confusing dials.
Dimensions
If you’re limited on counter space, you might consider a smaller, lighter mixer model that can be easily stored away in a cupboard instead of a larger, heavier stand mixer.
Cleaning
Nobody wants a kitchen mixer that is a nightmare to clean, so consider the following: are the mixer parts easy to remove for cleaning? Can they be washed in the dishwasher or only by hand?
And a bonus: are the mixer parts non-stick?
Speed
Variable speed control is indispensable when kneading dough, as it is important to start slowly when kneading and then gradually build up speed over time.
Wattage
The more watts the kitchen mixer has, the more powerful and effective it will be at kneading heavier bread dough and mixing.
Mixing Action
When looking for a stand mixer, you will find two motions to familiarize yourself with: planetary action and 2-beater stand mixers.
A planetary action stand mixer comes with a whip and dough hook that rotates around the bowl. The attachments touch the entirety of the bowl, including the sides. This allows you to better incorporate all your ingredients. The movement is similar to the planets rotating around the sun, which is why it is known as planetary action.
With a 2-beater stand mixer, you will find two dough hooks. These are considered more old-fashioned. With these, you will have to scrape the sides of the bowl when mixing to make sure everything is incorporated.
Other Considerations
Choose a mixer with a high watt rating for a better dough with less effort.
How solid is the build? Is it easy to set up? Is it intuitive to use? Is it a nightmare to clean? Will you want to store it away? These are other issues to consider.
Think about capacity, too, depending on whether you want it for a small family or to make very big batches, and try to find out how easy it will be to replace spare parts if you need them.
Now we’ve got all that out of the way, let’s take it away for the main event…
The Best Stand Mixers for Bread Dough
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer
The KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer is an award-winning product.
With its huge range of 20 color options, it’s cool and functional and offers a lot of features for a reasonable price.
These include a good-sized 5-quart stainless steel mixing bowl with a sturdy handle, dough hook, 6-wire whisk, and paddle attachments with planetary mixing action for effective kneading of the dough, a powerful motor, a locking tilt-head design for easy bowl removal and accessory attachment, and ten-speed settings to suit every type of mixing task.
The 59-point planetary mixing action provides 59 touchpoints per rotation, allowing you to incorporate your ingredients much more thoroughly.
With the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, you can make up to four loaves of bread in a single batch. Better yet? The flat beater and dough hook are dishwasher-safe, making this KitchenAid stand mixer easy to clean.
Pros
- Simple, straightforward design for ease of use
- Excellent value for money
- Huge range of color choice
- Powerful and effective even when mixing heavier dough
- Robust, quality construction
- Decent mixing bowl volume
- Stylish
- Comes with a pouring shield
Cons
- Bowl quality could be improved – does not have a flat bottom
- Hard to scrape the bowl when using the pouring shield
PRIMO PM-10 Stainless Steel Mixer
The PRIMO PM-10 Stainless Steel Mixer comes with a high price tag, but for a home stand mixer that is good enough to be used as a professional machine, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Home bakers absolutely love this machine for its dough mixing capabilities – making short work of what would otherwise be tiring and tedious work.
The mammoth 10-quart stainless steel bowl capacity alone is exceptional, and the hardened steel 0.5 hp motor is both strong and durable.
It features three different speeds, a safety guard, and an emergency stop button for added security. The attachments supplied include a steel wire whisk, dough hook, and aluminum paddle.
Pros
- Compact design
- Reliable and long-lasting
- Incredibly powerful
- Huge capacity
- Excellent performance for mixing dense dough
- Good safety features
Cons
- Very expensive
- Volume and power may be excessive for some home bakers
Hamilton Beach 63325 6-Speed Stand Mixer
So far, the options on this list have been at the professional end, with high price tags to match. But the truth is that there are plenty of mid-range stand mixers available that perform well with a much more reasonable price tag.
If you’re a keen home baker, but don’t have the will or resources to invest in a premium lane mixer, then one of these lower-priced products will suit you just fine.
For a high-performance budget kitchen mixer, the Hamilton Beach 63325 6-Speed Stand Mixer is a good option for basic home baking.
It features a 300 watt motor with six different speeds, a 3.5-quart stainless steel bowl, and an orbital attachment head for complete bowl coverage which needs to be lifted for easy access to change attachments or remove the mixing bowl.
The flat paddle, whisk, and dough hook are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.
Pros
- Good basic kitchen mixer
- Affordable price
- Special fold setting
- Operates quietly
- Stable and easy to use
- Space-saving design
Cons
- Not powerful enough for mixing denser doughs
- Small bowl capacity
Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Stand Mixer, 7-Quart
The Wolf Gourmet stand mixer is a high-performance stand mixer with a flat beater, dough hook, and whisk. The bowl is made from brushed stainless steel. It is big enough to accommodate the dough for all your favorite recipes. The motor and gearing system maintain a consistent speed, even when mixing thick dough for bread.
A bowl lift mixer allows for easy adjustments and more stability. A quick turn of the handle lifts the bowl and locks it into place for mixing.
The specialty attachment area of the Wolf Gourmet stand mixer adds a lot in the way of food processing and versatility. With specialty attachments that you can purchase separately, you can easily switch between attachments due to the simplified magnetized attachment cover and locking system.
Finally, with the variable infinite speed dial, you will have precise control for every recipe you whip up in the kitchen with your Wolf Gourmet stand mixer. It even has a pulse function so you can gently incorporate your ingredients.
Pros
- Offer superior mixing performance
- Unique bowl lift design allows for more stability and easier adjustments when mixing
- Planetary mixing action
- Maintains consistent speed and power, even when mixing thick dough
Cons
- Can be on the more expensive side
- Larger than other similar stand mixer options
Aucma Stand Mixer
The Aucma Stand Mixer features a powerful motor and variable speed control, allowing the utmost performance in the kitchen. There are six optimized speed settings to choose from, including a pulse function. The stainless steel bowl is a large 6.5-quart capacity and has two handles. The tilt-head design makes it easy to use and convenient to install or uninstall the bowl and the attachments you need.
The Aucma stand mixer comes with a whisk, dough hook, and mixing beater. It also has a splash guard with an access hatch, which allows you to easily add ingredients without making a big mess.
Since 2022, you will find the accessories included with your Aucma stand mixer have been upgraded. There is an upgraded die cast beater and dough hook with painting. They are lighter weight than before but still firm. The whisk is stainless steel, and all these accessories are dishwasher safe.
It is a multi-functional mixer ideal for kneading thick dough for bread. A blue LED light is used as a power indicator, and the two-layer red painting on the mixer further adds to its durability and aesthetic in the kitchen.
Pros
- Upgraded accessories made to be more durable
- Lightweight
- Easy to use and easy to clean
- Powerful but quiet motor
- Can handle thick dough
- Powerful suctions on the base, so it stays in place when mixing or kneading
Cons
- Body of the mixer is made of plastic
Hobart N50 Commercial Mixer
For many professional and high-level home bakers, the Hobart N50 is the best stand mixer bar none.
The original creators of the beyond famous Kitchen Aid mixer, Hobart has a solid reputation for top-quality kitchen mixers, and the Hobart N50 Commercial Mixer is a popular choice amongst home chefs who love to bake.
It benefits from an extra powerful gear-driven motor with three speeds, a single front-mounted attachment head, cast aluminum flat beater, and dough hook, plus a stainless steel balloon whip.
The casing is powder coated for added durability, and the 5-quart capacity lift-out bowl with handle is made from stylish and practical stainless steel.
Pros
- Professional quality
- Ideal for dough making
- Convenient size
- Delivers power even on slow settings
- Extremely durable
- Intuitive to use
- Good range of additional accessories and attachments available
Cons
- Expensive – but considering the exceptional quality, we think it offers excellent value for money
Cuisinart SM-50BC 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer
The Cuisinart stand mixer isn’t one of the more affordable options on our list, but it is still considered one of the best stand mixers for bread dough. It includes a large 5.5-quart capacity stainless steel bowl. It is a tall bowl rather than a wide bowl. There is also a handle on the side of the bowl, making it easier to take out, put in, and carry. The bowl can fit up to six cups of dry ingredients.
The metal construction offers durability and reliability. It has a tilted-head design, allowing you easy access to the bowl. There are 12 speeds for precision mixing.
The Cuisinart stand mixer comes with a chef’s whisk, dough hook, flat mixing paddle, and splash guard with a pour spout. It is the ideal mixer for kneading bread and comes with what you need to do so.
Pros
- Handles the heaviest mixing tasks
- Durable die metal construction
- Large polished stainless steel mixing bowl that is also dishwasher safe
- Tilt-back head design offers easy access to the mixing bowl
- Splash guard helps minimize any mess when adding ingredients
- Attachments are good for a wide range of baking and batters
- Also includes an outlet for compatible attachments
Cons
- May need to adjust so that the dough hook and other attachments reach the bottom of the mixing bowl
- Since controls are on the right side, it may be difficult to add ingredients while also adjusting the speed
KitchenAid Classic Series Stand Mixer
The KitchenAid Classic stand mixer is one of the more popular options when going through the list of the best stand mixers for bread dough. Why? The large-capacity bowl is one of the standout features of the KitchenAid Classic. The stainless steel bowl has a 4.5-quart capacity and tilt-head design. It is large enough for you to knead the ingredients to make three bread loaves.
The KitchenAid mixer also has a coated flat beater, coated dough hook, and 6-wire whip. It has 10 mixing speeds and will mix anything you want. Don’t let the smaller 275-watt motor discourage you.
It is also one of the lighter-weight options, so you can move it around the kitchen as needed. This is especially helpful if you don’t have a lot of counter space to work with and you have to store your KitchenAid mixer elsewhere when it isn’t in use.
Pros
- Smaller footprint and lightweight
- Comes in a variety of color choices
- Tilt-head design allows for clear access
- Powerful enough for any task, including kneading bread dough
Cons
- Bowl doesn’t swivel out. It is stationary
- On the more expensive side for its size
Final Thoughts
We hope this stand mixer review has helped you discover some of the best stand mixers for bread dough. Any models listed above would make a welcome addition to any baker’s kitchen, whether you plan on baking bread, mixing cookie dough, or prepping pizza dough.
Remember, when choosing the best stand mixer, consider what you will be using it for and then decide how big of a mixing bowl you will need. From there, you can decide on the attachments and set your budget.
Related Reading – Bread Maker Pizza Dough: A How to Guide
What’s your pick for the best stand mixer?
I bought my wife the Hobart N50 for her birthday and she is completely blown away – expensive, yes, but such a more powerful and durable machine than the KitchenAid stand mixers. She thinks it’ll last her through her retirement!
Agree with the others re the Hobart. Pricey but worth it for serious bread bakers.
The Hamilton Beach is actually pretty good considering its price. I use it often for mixing dough and find it perfectly serviceable. Obvs not a commercial machine but the best cheap option I think.