Making bread

To mix the ingredients and then knead the dough for 10 minutes, I set the stand mixer to speed 2, suitable for slow mixing, as recommended in the manual. I also recorded the noise level on a sound monitor, which registered an average of 77 dB. At the end of the 10 minutes, I was left with a lovely smooth dough, ready to prove.

Although mixing and kneading dough is a tough job, the stand mixer stayed on my countertop, and thanks to the secure lock and click system, the bowl stayed firmly clamped in place.

Whisking heavy cream

You really don’t want to take your eyes off the game when using the whisking attachment — it’s super fast. I placed 10 fl oz of cream in the mixing bowl, and set the speed to 8, which is recommended for whisking. At the same time, I was busy monitoring the noise level, which registered an average of 77 dB, but when I turned back, the cream was already very well whipped after 1 minute 23 seconds. My advice is, if you’re looking for a light whip, keep your eyes peeled.

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer: Ease of Use

There’s nothing overly complicated about using the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer. It’s a simple case of 'unpack and go'. The bowl is simple to attach using a lock-and-twist system. The tilt-head can be easily raised by releasing the slide lever, and the attachments are twisted in place. The only issue would be using the correct speed for your bake, which can be checked by reading through the manual.

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer: Cleaning

I always wash my stand mixer bowl and attachments by hand as they can take up valuable space in a dishwasher. However, if you prefer, the bowl can go on the top or lower rack of a dishwasher, and the pouring shield and coated and stainless steel tools can go on the top rack. The wire whip and uncoated tools should be hand-washed only. Plus, after use, I always wipe down the body of the stand mixer with a soft damp cloth and clean the beater shaft.

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer: The Verdict

Whether you’re a regular baker or just starting out on your baking journey, you’ll enjoy using the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer. It’s intuitive to use, mixes ingredients without much intervention and can withstand kneading dough without the appliance moving around and becoming unstable. If you haven’t yet invested in one of the best bread machines, and you're looking for a stand mixer to make your dough, you won’t be disappointed with the strength of the appliance’s motor.

Apart from looking beautiful in your kitchen, you’re guaranteed an appliance that gives consistent results and one that’s built to last. Although it might seem like a hefty investment, especially if you only bake the occasional cake, you won’t be replacing it after a year or two, and it can withstand almost anything you throw at it. The only reason you’ll want to swap it is if you want a change of color!

Setup Process: Easy peasy

Aside from washing the bowl and accessories before the first use, there’s no setup required. To start using the mixer, the attachments push and twist on to lock.

Performance: Beast of a machine

While this mixer isn’t a professional model, it’s a beast of a machine for home cooks with its powerful and efficient 325-watt motor. Even with lightweight tasks like whipping cream or mixing cake batter that could be done by hand or with a hand mixer, this machine proved its worth. No matter what the task, we could just set up the machine and stand back and watch it.

We’ll admit it—kneading dense pasta dough by hand isn’t something we squeal with joy over. It’s a lot of work just to end up with some noodles. With this stand mixer willing to do the kneading, we gave it a go, and soon we had a silky ball of pasta dough. While the mixer’s motor got a little warm, it didn’t get hot so we didn’t worry about overheating.

Speaking of dough, the mixer did an excellent job kneading bread dough, and it didn’t complain one bit. Lighter-weight tasks, like mixing cookie dough and cake batter were a breeze, and we had more fun than we should have when we over-whipped some cream and turned it into our own homemade butter.