Product Review: The KitchenAid 600 Professional Series Stand Mixer

When a person's cooking ability reaches the point where they're seriously considering the financial investment of a quality stand mixer, they've arrived to a culinary expertise level that indicates they'll only accept top of the line. Having been disappointed at the performance or durability of lesser brands and models, it was time for me to settle for nothing but the best.

That's what the KitchenAid 600 series 6 Qt. professional stand mixer is, top of the line, best of the best.

How many stand mixers, produced for home use, can mix up to 8 loaves of bread dough at one time? Do you like cookies, how about making them in batches of 13 dozen. That's a level of production that most home bakers can only dream of.

Durability? The KitchenAid 600 Series is equipped with an all steel gear drive system that is equipped with both thermal overload and mechanical overload protection. It comes with a full 1 year parts and labor warranty, where your machine will be quickly replaced if a problem should arise. Better yet, the replacement machine will also come with a full 1 year additional coverage.

KitchenAid's 67 point planetary drive system is so efficient you're assured perfect mixing every time. 10-speed slide control speed selection lets you knead the stiffest bread dough or whip the fluffiest meringue.

So how well did it perform once I got my new, sleek black, KitchenAid 600 mixer home. That very first day I went with the basics. Referring to the included selection of recipes I chose basic white bread. With the ingredients in the bowl, it was off and running with the dough hook. Right off the bat I made my first error. Being accustomed to more extended times required for kneading, I went well beyond the recommended 2 - 2.5 minutes. The end result was a more dense bread that was still by no means a disappointment.

My next effort was a batch of toll house cookies. Blending was almost instantaneous making the longest part of the process the baking. For sure the results were magnificent and rapidly consumed by family members waiting for fresh samples to cool.

If there was any complaints to be found it would be the included recipes in the KitchenAid manual. I tried both the plain white bread and the French bread recipes. Baking instruction for both where too hot and too long. Results using recipes found on the internet seemed more realistic in baking methods. There hint to roll out the dough before the final rise was useful as it did indeed reduce the amount of air bubbles in the bread.

My overall satisfaction level ranks very high. This is one powerful stand mixer. Lifting it up onto the counter makes you realize this is a substantial piece of equipment. Under the heaviest load, it just sits there and does the job. No vibration, no walking all over the counter, it just works, and works good. Something I expect it will continue to do for many years to come.