WonderMix Bread Dough Mixer

KitchenAid Professional 600 Stand Mixer Review

(You might read our Review of the NEW Bosch Universal Plus mixer and how it compairs to the KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer.)

The KitchenAid Pro 600

My Past History with KitchenAid Mixers

Recently after trying several other “high-end” mixers I decide to go back to the KitchenAid mixer. This would not be my first Kitchen Aid mixer. About 15 years ago I took some classes on cake decorating and for a few years ran a cake business from my home. At that time I was looking for a stand mixer that could handle large batches of butter cream frosting. I tried Sunbeam and Oster and several other “consumer” grade stand mixers and found that in less than a month with each they would burn out. Finally, I looked at the KitchenAid mixer; this was back when Hobart made them. It was exactly what I was looking for. The problem is it was almost three times the cost of the mixers I had been using. But, I knew if I wanted a mixer that could handle what I would be using it for that I had to spend the money. I borrowed the money from my sister and bought it.

I loved everything about the mixer. That was until I started using it for bread dough a few years later. It never occurred to me to worry about the dough hook when I bought it. I should have however. The thing had the worst dough hook I have ever seen. Even to this day I have never found a worse dough hook. The problem was the dough would get on the hook and then just ride it around the bowl. The dough just didn’t get kneaded and so it didn’t make good bread. I held on to this mixer for almost 12 years. Then I started looking at machines like the Bosch Universal, the K-tech, the Dimension 2000 and the Electrolux Magic Mill DLX, while all of these are good mixers to be sure. They were just too big. I didn’t use them all that often. By this time I was cooking for two and it just didn’t make sense having a mixer that could make 5 to 8 loaves of bread or turn 5 pounds of boiled potatoes in to mashed potatoes.

My Research on the New KitchenAid Pro 600 Mixer

So once again I started looking for a new mixer. I came back to the KitchenAid mixer. The problem was that the KitchenAid mixers were now being made by Whirlpool having been bought from Hobart many years before and what I was hearing from people that bought the Whirlpool Kitchen Aids was that the quality of the machine just wasn’t what it was. Basically, people felt that Whirlpool turned them in to mass market mixers that just didn’t hold up well.

I spent a lot of time reading user reviews on the internet and I turned to the one source I knew I could trust for getting the honest truth on these mixers. America’s Test Kitchen. I am a big fan of America’s Test Kitchen and having watched their PBS TV show and having owned many of their cookbooks I knew how they tested products. It also helped that everything I have ever tried from their cookbooks turned out perfect and all of the equipment that they have recommended that I have bought was everything I could have hoped for and more. So, I asked. As it turned out they have used and tested just about every mixer I have ever owned and a couple I hadn’t.

The first thing I did was look at what they had to say and how they rated the mixers that I have owned. They were right on the money on those, they were good for the most part, but each had their own problems. Then I started looking at the KitchenAid mixers. There are several models ranging in price from a little over $200 up to almost $400. The one that got the best rating was the KitchenAid Pro 600 mixer. So, after doing my internet research on it and paying close attention to the negative comments from users of the machine, I decide to give it a try. I bought mine locally so that if I had any questions I would have someone to ask and if I needed service or repair I had some place close. The one thing I found very interesting about the America’s Test Kitchen ratings was that all of the lesser machines, many of which they use on their shows themselves rated very poorly and usually, in the power or ease of use department.

The Pig Tail Dough Hook

While researching the mixer I discovered a few things about the Pro 600 that had me very curious. First the bowl on this mixer is much wider than the one on my original Kitchen Aid mixer. I hoped that this would make adding ingredients to the bowl while mounted on the mixer easier and less messy. I also learned that it had a new style plastic pour shield. Again, I hoped that it would make adding ingredients easier; this new one has a feed shoot instead of a single sided plastic lip. The original pour shield I didn’t like and didn’t use. But, the most interesting thing about the Pro 600 was that it had a new style dough hook. What I call a pig tail dough hook. Why a pig tail, because if you have ever seen a pig tail then you know what this new dough hook looks like.

Before buying I tried to find some information on this new dough hook. I knew I was going to want to make bread with this thing and I wanted to make sure that the dough hook would knead the dough and not simply provide the dough with an amusement park type ride. I couldn’t find anything. Even the user’s reviews didn’t mention much about the new dough hook. So, I took a chance and bought the mixer anyway.

First Impressions of the KitchenAid Pro 600

I have had the Kitchen Aid Pro 600 stand mixer since early November 2005 and I have not only made mashed potatoes with it, but a large batch of chocolate chip cookies, several dozen loaves of bread, cakes, pie dough and more.

The first thing I noticed after taking it out of the box is that the machine is metal and is well made. It is heavy, not cast iron stove heavy, but heavy as in it feels like good quality. The second thing I noticed was the amount of noise it made. Just turning it to the first speed had the thing sounding like a cement mixer. I mean this puppy is loud. It has to be 5 or 6 times as noisy as my original KitchenAid stand mixer was. It sounds like it is trying to make peanut butter out of pea gravel. Well, I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me think twice. I mean how can a machine that makes this much noise be good quality? But, I pushed that a side and made a loaf of whole wheat bread. I mill my own flour and I knew that even a single loaf batch would be a good test for the mixer.

Kneading a Loaf of Whole Wheat Bread Dough

The KitchenAid Pro 600 mixer did a fantastic job. Once the motor was placed under load it smoothed out and quieted down by several factors. But, what was even more impressive was the new dough hook. I have to tell you this dough hook kneads like a champ. It is the closest thing I have seen to hand kneading. It really works the dough and works it hard. This is a good thing as it develops the gluten in the dough so that you get a nice high rising loaf that has good structure and crumb and is light. I had whole wheat bread that was as light and moist as white bread. Well, this had me very impressed and this also helped to push the noise issue to the back of my mind. I mean I still wasn’t happy with the noise, but so far the mixer was doing a great job and the motor didn’t even grunt while mixing the whole wheat bread dough.

6 Pounds of Mashed Potatoes & Noodle Dough

Next came Thanksgiving and so I made mashed potatoes in it. I was having some friends over and ended up feeding it nearly 6 pounds of cooked potatoes. The mixer with the paddle attachment again did and incredible job and it didn’t grunt once. By now I was seeing a pattern. The machine quieted down a considerable amount when under load. Maybe the noise wasn’t going to be a problem after all.

Also for Thanksgiving I had to make noodle dough (we make homemade noodles that are cooked in turkey stock that we use instead of gravy on our mashed potatoes and stuffing.) The noodle dough has to be one of the stiffest dough’s you can throw at a mixer. It is nearly twice as stiff as whole wheat bread dough. It has to be so that the noodles don’t stick together while you are cutting them. The mixer once again came through like a champion. In fact I had to be careful as I could actually get the dough too stiff.

Fruite Cake & Cookies

Finally, Christmas came along and it was time for making fruit cake and cookies. No problems with either of these recipes. The fruit cake batter is thick and contains lots of big chunks of fruit and nuts. The cookie recipe (chocolate chip) makes 12 dozen cookies (about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie), neither of these thick dough’s/batters caused a problem.

So What Do I Think of the KitchenAid Pro 600 Mixer

Since November 2005 I have made about 40 loaves of bread. We tend to go through a lot of bread and I am just as impressed with the kneading and the new dough hook now as I was with that first loaf of whole wheat bread. I like it better than my bread machine, which I never thought I would say.

The mixer has several speeds from a slow mixing to a high speed whipping and everything in between. The controls are easy to use and figure out. It is simply a little sliding lever on the slide of the machine. Slide it forward to turn it on and speed it up, pull it back to slow it down and turn it off. Another nice feature is that the machine slowly starts and then gradually over a few seconds increases to your chosen speed. This is supposed to help prevent ingredients from flying out. If you have ever turned your mixer on and have it blow the ingredients in the bowl all over the kitchen then you will appreciate this slow power up feature. It does help to a certain degree, though you are better off starting at a slow speed until all of the ingredients are moistened and then speeding the mixer up.

Like all Kitchen Aid mixers before it, the Pro 600 has an accessory connection on the front. It is hidden by a metal cover that flips up out of the way so that you can connect attachments to the mixer, attachments like a citrus juicer, food slicer, meat grinder, pasta roller, pasta extruder, grain mill and more. I didn’t test the mixer with any of the available attachments. But, they are available and there is a good range of them too. It is important to read all of the instructions. Most attachments require you to use the mixer at a certain speed and going above that speed could damage the mixer and/or attachment. So please read all instructions.

The new bowl shape is great. Having a wider mouth on it makes adding things like flour, eggs, etc. to your bowl while the machine is working not only easier but much less messy. The new pour shield is in my opinion every bit as worthless as the one that came with the original KitchenAid stand mixer. It makes it impossible to see in to the bowl clearly and you have to stop the machine and remove it should you need to scrape down the sides of the bowl and that is a task that you have to do at least once for everything you mix, so the shield can be a real pain. In the end life was easier when you didn’t use it. However, it is included in case you want to use it. Personally, I would like to see the mixing bowl modified so that it had a nice wide flat lip on one side to make adding ingredients easier. I don’t see why this couldn’t be done.

Finally, the warranty on the mixer is quite good. It is one year parts and labor and if something should happen to the mixer during that year you simply call the support number and they will send you out a new machine and even pay the shipping to return the defective one. Not a bad warranty if you ask me.

In the end I have to say I am extremely happy with the mixer. Once I realized that the noise wasn’t a sign of a cheaply made machine it isn’t an issue. Sure I would like to see it quieter sounding, but that is just so you can talk or listen to the TV or radio while you work.

– – Review written by Robert Barnett

 

(You might read our Review of the NEW Bosch Universal Plus mixer and how it compairs to the KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer.)

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  • This is a wonderful review, and very helpful for those looking to buy a heavy-duty stand mixer. What I would add is that the Kitchenaid Pro 500 is the same line, slightly cheaper, and the only difference is the bowl size. Instead of a 6-quart bowl, it comes with a 5-quart bowl. I own a Kitchenaid Pro 500, and it works just as marvelously as the Kitchenaid Pro 600, which I have had the pleasure of using at my in-law’s house. Unfortunately, it has the same noise problem.

    Brianna
  • Very helpful review….thanks!

    Lama
  • I have the Kitchenaid Professional5 Plus. It is indeed a great mixer, and I am finally proud of every single batch of cookies, cake, and bread that comes out of my kitchen. I did not go wrong purchasing a KitchenAid mixer.

    Toni
  • Wondering if you have ever done 2 loaves of bread in your Kitchen Aid 600? Can you give an idea of what size loaf you have made? My standard loaf size is about 1 lb. 10 oz before putting the dough into the pans. I have a Kitchen Aid 600 ordered which will arrive 2 days before Thanksgiving and I am wondering if I can do two of those, whole wheat.

    Andrea
  • I just bought mine from Amazon, they have it on sale for $219 w/ free shipping (new not refurbished but only the black Licorice model) this one seems to be the best bang for the buck. I remember my mother’s Kenwood mixer, it had a lot of attachments, the KitchenAid mixer has much less attachments but they have just the ones I need.

    This is a very detailed review. Thank you.

    Mariano
  • We owned a regular Kitchen Aid stand mixer for 13 years and LOVED it, but when we decided to upgrade to a heavy duty 5 qt. bowl lift stand mixer we were in for a very big disappointment! Regretably, we gave away the first mixer and theirs is working better than our new one! I DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE ‘HEAVY DUTY MIXERS’ TO ANYONE who likes to cook using whole wheat. They can’t handle double batches of 100% whole wheat bread. They can’t handle the food grinder attachment for grinding wheat sprouts, or making whole wheat pasta. At first it handles dough beautifully, but the gears start ‘popping’ after a year or so, and by then your warranty is expired. Having used a smaller Kitchen Aid mixer for 13 years, I did not worry about changing my dough recipes. I didn’t see in their instructions that I could not use 100% whole wheat until it was too late. It’s very discouraging to spend $400 for a mixer that can’t do any more than the smaller, less expensive, models. These are NOT heavy duty mixers. You have to ‘baby’ them more than the smaller mixers. BEWARE wheat-savvy-cooks…This is NOT the appliance for you. The repair center says it will be a minimum of $75 or so to fix our gears. PLUS, I can no longer make whole wheat bread (I must use white flour too), and I no longer dare use the food grinder attachment (which was $75!) because I don’t want to go through this repair again!

    Marie Fullmer
  • I really appreciate all the time it took to write this thoughtful and thorough review. I is invaluable when I make a purchase decision.

    Rob Yorke
  • marie fullmer, or anyone with an opinion…

    do you have an opinion on other standing mixers like the Bosch or Blendtec? I want to make bread and lots of it without spending over $400-$500. I have 6 kids and make large batches of everything I do. I have been using a friend’s 20 yr old Bosch…I love it…wondering if the newest 800 watt one is as good. ALso Blendtec has a 1000 watt version in the same price range. HELP!

    cathy endicott
  • If you are doing large batches of bread, the NEW Bosch Universal Plus mixer can handle a huge load. Check out this link for the Bosch doing 9 loaves of bread dough all at once.
    http://kodiakhealth.com/catalog/index.php/module/statics/action/view_listing/page/61
    I have a Bosch and it has handled many large loads I have put in it without a problem. I have not made 9 loaves of bread in it but I have done 6 loaves at once many times with no issues. It’s dough hook is very superior to the Kitchenaid’s too. My wife wants me to get a Kitchenaid just because they look cooler but I love my Bosch.

    New Bosch for Whole Wheat mixing
  • I don’t know if you are an unbiased person or affiliated with some corporation, but I found this review helpful. Thanks.

    Kim
  • I sure hope your KitchenAid mixer continues to serve better than mine has. I never do whole wheat (read the manual), go gently on the pasta, quit grinding meat (bought a Waring grinder) and do two loaves of white bread a week. I do resort to a 2 lb. rye or sourdough once a month but gave up it cutting in pie crusts. I have a small cement mixer that mixes my planting soils while running quieter. Now I’m kneading by hand because Whirlpool built a piece of junk and decided to bail on it. The KitchenAid Professional 6 mixer boasted a lower gear ratio (more power from 525 watt motor) of 6.57:1 vs 6:1 on smaller mixers. When the plastic gear housing got tired the primary gear failed. No replacement is available, WHEE. If I’d but abused it early and often I’d have learned of the problem in time to collect enough parts to keep it going. New motor and gear (6:1) along with a metal gear case are on the way. It should still mix cookies, cakes and frostings, looking pretty as new, but looking for a mixer that can handle bread. On with the search.

    Jim Keller
  • I really appreciated the review of the Kitchenaid Pro 600. I’ve had a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer for about 3 years and it’s pooched. I am quite disappointed as I was under the impression that it would last so long, I’d have to leave it to someone in my will. So now I’m considering a Pro 600 mixer. Great info.

    Kathie
  • I have my second KitchenAid mixer in pieces. The beater shaft won’t stay on. KitchenAid customer service says that I wasn’t supposed to knead my bread for 10 – 15 minutes but for 3 – 4 and then continue kneading it by hand. If I wanted to knead by hand, I wouldn’t have gotten the mixer in the first place. Cook’s Illustrated says that the Cuisinart 7 qt. is better at bread dough than the KA pro 600. Does anyone have an opinion on that?

    Sandy Dobday
  • I have had a KitchenAid mixer(300 watt)for about 34 years and it is still working just fine. I read online that the plastic parts in the motor have produced such poor results that they have returned to all metal parts. I have noticed that they are advertised as having all metal parts. I plan to buy the professional 600 soon. Connie Jo Foster Nov, 29, 2009

    Connie Jo Foster
  • Thanks for the really good review. As a professional baker I was looking for information on mix times for dough using the professional 600 and not having any luck. I can say that I way underestimated the mixing capability of the 600. Even using vital wheat gluten and ascorbic acid most doughs were mixed out in 6 minutes at the most. I may be over mixing even at 6 minutes. I haven’t pushed the dough size past 800 grams of flour or 2.5 pounds of dough but it seems to handle this with no problem.

    Seth Cox
  • I have had the KA pro 600 for 3 years and have hated it. I too had an old (At least 30 years)Green KA that I used all the time. The noise level on the 600 is horrendous, it does not handle the bread batch (white flour not whole wheat) that my old Artisan did. I now use it maybe 3 times a year..would trade straight across for a different KA. The only problem with my old one was it was hard to twist the bowl off the machine after mixing because it twisted it in too tight. (Plus the avocado green color LOL). In 3 years I have used the 600 less than I used the old one in a month. I hate it

    Lori N
  • I just got my first for Christmas, the 90th anniversary model,great review, thanks! I think I am going to be MORE than happy with it!

    Karlynn
  • What I’m noticing here is that most of the negative reviews are from people who have had time to use the KA 600 and the ecstatic reviews are generally from people haven’t had it long enough to experience what seems very likely to come later.
    Based on these comments, I’ve boxed my KA 600 back up. Not going to use it even for a test. I’ll be sending it back to Amazon. I don’t trust the brand under Whirlpool. Enough people have said enough things here and elsewhere on the net that it’s a pretty safe bet the quality is not what it used to be.

    BobCov
  • hey! Thanks for the post, very helpfull! We also do noodles for Thanksgiving… my grandmother made from scratch i’m hoping to do the same with my new Kitchenaid mixer… are you willing to share your recipe????

    tisha
  • I don’t recall when I bought my Kitchen Aid Pro 600 mixer, but I know it was well over four years ago (as I was using it even before my friend went to Japan for three years of teaching). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it, but it makes large batches of cookies in mere minutes. I’ve been making rolled pasta with it for the last year and change, and it’s every bit as loud as it’s ever been, but it handles anything I throw at it.

    Just figured I’d add another unsupported anecdote for people to base rash decisions on.

    CJ
  • Ahhh…you guys! I am looking at getting the Kitchenaid 600…salivating over it actually! I like to make cheesecakes and have burned up a hand mixer and afraid to try it with the hand mixer I have now! I make my bread dough in my bread machine and only make one batch at a time so don’t really need the Kitchenaid 600 for bread – bread machine is so easy, mixes, kneads, and rises all by itself. I have a new recipe for Banana Nut Bread that is really bogging down the hand mixer as well so I need to upgrade. With arthritis, hanging on to a hand mixer is a real pain as well! I think I am going to jump in and go for it! Thanks all for the GREAT and not so great reviews…Happy Baking!

    Debbie Gee
  • My husband got a Ultra Power (300 watt) Kitchen Aid refurbished~ It works good for what we use it for~ Mostly for cookies, or bread that is to big of a batch for my Zojirushi bread maker~ Anything smaller we use the hand mixer~ I find it interesting that the machine is to loud, but so many don’t have a problem w/ the TV or radio blaring, and the Kitchen Aid mixer is producing something for your well being, and in minutes you can shut it off~ If we could aford it we would get the Bosch machine, My Mom is from a family of 10 and that is what they have used for the past 20yrs.~ Even if you are a 2 person house hold it is worth it~ It also comes w/ other useful parts!
    If at all possible, enjoy whatever you have, it could be a lot worse!
    Happy baking!! Eating!!

    Tania
  • I broke my Kitchenaid mixer – found something much better, same relative price.

    After I burned out the gears (stripped) in my Kitchenaid 600 professional mixer while making whole wheat bread dough, I bought a Globe SP-5 stand mixer to replace it. Much stronger construction, bigger motor (800 watts) and best of all, it has the same #10 attachment hub as does the Kitchenaid mixer. This means I can use all my accessory attachments as before. The bowl, paddle, dough hook and wire whip don’t fit however, but of course the Globe mixer comes with it’s own.

    It also comes with a 2 year warranty.

    Ermott
  • To Everyone Using or Considering The Kitchenaid Pro 600 mixer:

    ;)Here’s the real deal–a lot of people simply fail to follow directions, ruin their machine, then blame the manufacturer.

    I am posting the SIMPLE directions from page 56–who ever really reads that far with directions anyway!?. Just read and follow accordingly…

    1• Always use the PowerKnead™
    Spiral Dough Hook to mix and
    knead yeast doughs.

    2• Use Speed 2 to mix or knead
    yeast doughs. Use of any other
    speed creates high potential for
    stand mixer failure.

    3• Do not use recipes calling for
    more than 14 cups all-purpose
    flour or 8 cups whole-wheat flour
    when making dough with a 6 qt
    mixer (12 cups all-purpose
    flour or 6 cups whole-wheat flour
    when making dough with a 5 qt
    mixer)

    See??? Easy as 1-2-3!

    So…if you did not use or read the directions, and/or used too much flour and/or mixed it on any speed above 2 (because I certainly would have unknowingly–wouldn’t you?), you’ll bake this thing. Ha!

    Just use Speed 2 and monitor the amount/type of flour.

    Think about it, smile and enjoy, and have a happy life.

    Lovin the Kitchenaid 600 Pro! 🙂

    jonjono
  • I don’t know if anyone else has had this happen to them, but I wanted to share my recent good fortune. My mom bought me a white classic 250 watt Kitchenaid mixer several years ago. I didn’t use it very much at first, but then I got into making pizza. Well, after a few months of very small batches of pizza dough it died on me. We took it off the counter and put it away, thinking we might try to have it repaired one day. Since it was a few years passed the 1 year warranty, we thought that was our only option. So, my birthday was yesterday and my boyfriend said let’s go buy you a new mixer! I was thrilled and in doing my research I came across this article and decided on the 600. We went down to Macy’s and were just about to grab the box and take it to the register when a salesman walked up and asked if we had any questions. I was going to just tell him, no, but thanks, and that we were gonna buy the 600. But, I decided to ask him to tell me about the difference of warranties available on the different mixers they had. Instead of talking about the warranties he just stated, “well if you get a Kitchenaid mixer, you’ll be able to give it to your grandchildren.” I just smiled and explained to him that I was actually buying a new one to replace my broken Kitchenaid. He frowned and asked how it broke, and when I told him he said “well, if you bring it down here we’ll replace it for you, or give you the full credit for that model towards the 600. ” After a few minutes of making sure we understood him correctly, we went home, picked up the broken mixer, (mixer stand only, no bowl, or attachments) went back and walked out with the 600 Pro for $117 (after an additional mail in rebate they were offering that he applied at the register). Soooo, long story short, if you have a broken Kitchenaid ask around or just call Macy’s!

    Melissa P.
  • All Kitchen Aid Pro 600 are now sold with the metal gear case cover. Do not be afraid to purchase the Pro 600.
    The only reason they used the plastic cover (which would get warm and flex causing the gears to miss align) was to save weight.
    People complained the machine was too heavy. They are once again built to the old Hobart specs, Hardened steel gears with steel gear case cover(absolutely no flexing of the gears).
    I highly recommend this mixer.
    I absolutely love mine and it can handle anything I can throw at it.
    The Kitchen Aid Pro 600 is Heirloom quality.

    J.M
  • I bought my Kitchen Aid 6 qt Epicurean model off QVC 8 years ago when they made it their Today’s Special Value and from day one it screamed like a banshee. I thought it was me doing something wrong with it. It never mixed over 4 cups of flour without sounding like it was giving birth. The high-pitched sound of the gears straining was unbelievable. It didn’t do it with everything but it got worse with time. If I made potatoes or whipped cream it was ok but still sounded abused. Bread was horrible. I finally broke down and took it to a local “Authorized” service shop and he charged me 100.00 for greasing the bloody gears! The thing then went wheels up on me altogether. Called Kitchen Aid and they were very nice. Said to ship them the mixer and they would fix it, but if the gears and or motor needed to be replaced I was looking at better than 2/3rds the cost of a new one (after the 100.00 I’d already spent.) I was worried that I could fix it and it might still not be right so I bought a new Kitchen Aid Pro 600 mixer. I made a double batch of cookies in it with ease! You don’t need to spend a lot of time mixing. Actually, it takes literal seconds, 30 here, 60 there, etc. You will need to adjust the speed between creaming and mixing the batter. The manual will tell you what to do if you look at some of the recipes in the back for an idea and read what it says for speeds to use for various functions.

    The only thing that really worries me is that the screw adjustment for the bowl doesn’t want to move. Not a good sign. I’ll run over to the local shop where I bought it and check out the displays and see if theirs move easily. If I have to I can swap it out if it’s a problem. Also I bake A LOT of bread and am scared that I will kill this machine as I did the last. However, the gal from Kitchen Aid did tell me something I was doing wrong with the last that may make a difference; while I was using speed 2 for kneading my dough I was using the machine for the required kneading time for the recipe. SHE TOLD ME NOT TO KNEAD BREAD FOR MORE THAN 4 MINUTES. PERIOD. So I will try and see what it will do. I want to make bagles, artisan breads and Ciabatta and found a recipe which literally states “Won’t hurt your precious Kitchen Aids.” And yes, that is a direct quote. (Jason’s Quick Coccodrillo Ciabatta Bread Recipe posted on Thefreshloaf.com) I am keeping my fingers crossed because I have owned my original mixer since 1988/89 and loved it enough to buy and use the attachments religiously. I’m praying that the original Kitchen Aid 6 qt mixer I bought was just a fluke and that this one will last me.

    siobhan
  • This this mixer! Just bought the kitchenaid pro 600 mixer and started making fresh italian bread! This machine easily handled the loaf recipe> Love the design of the dough spriral hook, it can handle the dough easily ( just a hint for those who find the dough climbs the hook: add a bit more flour the dough is just too wet) Looking forward to many more years of use, I love this machine!

    SUSAN
  • My wife has had our kitchenaid pro 600 for 4 years, then she was making pasta ie spaggetti with the KA grinder/pasta attachment and stripped a gear. Anyone else have this problem with grinder attachment??? P.S. She also follows the KA bread recipies to the letter as far as mixing times and flour amounts go. I am a pretty good mechaninc, can I fix it myself, or are there manuals and parts supplys anybody has heard of?? Thanks alot- great Blog!!

    Jerry
  • KitchenAid is a great mixer for everything but wholemeal bread dough. Especially if the dough contains rye and other non-wheat flours. I have the famous old K5SS. I also have several bread machines including the top Zojirushi BBCCX20. I use 50/50 wheat/rye which I grind at home add some vital gluten and autolyse overnight. The next day I add salt, yeast, soy flour and diastatic malt and knead in my equipment. Nothing compares to my 20-year old Zojirushi BBCCS15 in gluten devilopment. The dough retains more moisture and appears drier while dough mixed by other equipment is wetter and does not hold its form. I think the reason is that Zo. BBCCS15 has a kneading rod. It’s a great pity the model is discontinued and I cannot get spare parts.

    Robert
  • After reading different comments praising stand mixers as machines for kneading bread dough I came to a conclusion that people do not know better. Stand mixers (all of them without exception, even commercial) do a mediocre job kneading bread dough. The dough hook and the stand mixer design overall is not very good for kneading bread dough. If you don’t believe me, try to find old Zojirushi BBCC S15 bread machine and compare. Meanwhile I love my K5SS kitchenAid, but for other uses.

    Robert
  • I bought my (Hobart manufactured) KitchenAid stand mixer used, from a nursing home, where it had been used for 20 years on a daily, demanding basis. I have owned it now for over 20 years, it’s been through 10 moves and a fire, and it never grumbles or faulters. It is the most reliable appliance I have ever owned. The dough hook has saved me many hours of kneading, the paddle has saved me hundreds of hours of mashing. My KitchenAid is the Sherman Tank of mixers.

    Martin
  • Thanks so much for the in-depth review. I’ve been struggling with the choices out there. I do a lot of cookie baking for a local charity and need something larger than my 5 qt but have been hesitant because of the negative reviews. I think the Kitchenaid Pro 600 Stand Mixer will be for me.

    Patricia
  • This is a great site. I am shopping for a mixer to make whole wheat bread and this has been the most helpful and informative website I have found. thanks

    susan
  • I have a 6 quart Kitchen Aid that I prefer to use over my bigger mixer..if it starts to struggle (sounds like it, as it slows down and whines), and it does on fairly small amounts of stiff dough (6-8 cups),I toss the dough into my 10 quart Hobart to finish it up. I will keep the Kitchen Aid because we have attachments for it and it is fine for cake mixes, icings and so on. It might make it past the difficult struggling sound but I don’t want to risk breaking it, so I haven’t tried.

    Pauline
  • I have the pro 500 and use it regularly to make white and/or whole wheat bread dough. I can’t imagine kneading for 10-15 minutes, seriously, why would you do that, there is absolutely no need for it, that would be like kneading by hand for half an hour.
    My recipe calls for 9-10 cups of flour and it’s never been an issue, just do it on speed 2 like the directions say. I use the mixer for everything and love it.

    Cynthia
  • Growing up my mum had the KA Proline. When I got married I realized how much I needed and missed my moms KA, so I bought one for my husband for Christmas (Professional HD). It lasted for a little more than a year. My husband tried to use the grinder and striped the gears. 1 YEAR WARENTY my ice cream maker has 3. Let that be a lesson to me. I called the repair shop that KA recommended and they said that it will cost more than I paid for the mixer. I stole my mum’s KA a year and a half ago and need and have been told that it is time to get my own. KA was a company that I trusted now I am scared that if I shell out another $400 I may have to do so every other year. I appreciate everyone’s comments I may take a look at Hobart.

    Tasha
  • I just bought my KA 600 professional series 3 months ago, but I have to say, I LOVE this thing. I have made loaves of bread over and over again and it does a fantastic job. BTW, my loaves are white, 2 pounds a piece and I make 2 at a time. It is loud, but that’s not a real problem. You can still hear the TV and everything else. I have 4 kids, so it’s loud here anyway. I can still have a phone conversation with it on.
    I have even taken up the task of making 16 loaves of bread for my daughter’s preschool fundraiser and it didn’t miss a beat. I make cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies, mashed potaotes, buttercream frosting, fondant icig,anything and everything that needs to be mixed in, in this machine and it has never failed me once. It does have a 1 year warranty, but they offer longer ones as well (for a cost, but very minimal) if you would like to have that.
    BTW…I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond while they were having a sell. The price was reduced and it had a $50 mail in rebate so I only paid 250.00 for it!!!

    Heather
  • I just purchased my first Kitchen Aid Pro 500 lift mixer. My only question is how do u remove the bowl after mixing. It seems I will have to tilt the bowl almost on its side to remove it so it can clear the beater I am using at the time, or do I have to undo the beater and let the beater sit in the bowl to remove the bowl. I did not realize this was not a tilt head model when I ordered it. So I am not sure if a tilt head model is better than a non tilt head.
    Thanks for any info.
    Leesa

    Leesa Hart
  • I just stripped the gears on my second Pro 600. The first one was replaced by Kitchen Aid due to overheating and having black powder flake around the drive shaft into my food. And yes, I followed the directions EXACTLY–people who say “Only those who don’t follow directions have problems” are WRONG WRONG WRONG. 6 cups of flour, with 3 1/2 of them whole grain and short mixing times–well within the specified capacity, and the less than 2 year old machine stripped gears (it sounds like–need to pull it apart to be sure.)

    If you want to bake cakes and whip egg whites, this might be an ok machine–but don’t plan on it performing to specification without failure if you’re making bread dough.

    George P.
  • My second Pro 600 also just burned out while kneading dough, ( white flour) I’ve used kitchen aid mixers for over 35 years. I had much better luck with the old smaller one, and trouble since upgrading to the larger pro 600. For cakes and cookie dough, it was perfect, but it can’t handle bread dough.

    Nancy F
  • I have a Kitchenaid k5ssfrom1982. It works but the bowl is tilted and it scrapes with the hook. My daughter would love it even if it is not perfect. I have a big birthday and want the pro 600. After researching the Internet I am concerned about my family buying it for me. I would love to hear any comments. My machine makes plenty of noise, that’s why my iPod sits in the pocket of my apron. Besides making bread, cookies, cakes and the usual I would love to make pasta with the attachment. Will I be disappointed?

    and

    Marda
  • I have a Kitchenaid k5ssfrom1982. It works but the bowl is tilted and it scrapes with the hook. My daughter would love it even if it is not perfect. I have a big birthday and want the pro 600. After researching the Internet I am concerned about my family buying it for me. I would love to hear any comments. My machine makes plenty of noise, that’s why my iPod sits in the pocket of my apron. Besides making bread, cookies, cakes and the usual I would love to make pasta with the attachment. Will I be disappointed?

    Marda
  • Marda – the bowl should not sit crooked. There is a nipple on the back of the bowl that snaps into a hole on a metal clip on the neck of the mixer. Easy to overlook.

    We used our Pro 600 model 3 times and it over-heated every time. It shuts down and won’t restart till it cools – about 30 minutes. Makes me wonder if it is going to last.

    This is with 2 cups whole wheat and 6 cups white flour, mixing with the bread hook for 9-10 minutes, easily within the guidelines in the guide. We will now stop the mixing now after 8-9 minutes and see if the bread still comes out OK.

    The recipe (including mixing times) are from the Cook’s Illustrated book of Baking, so its not a crazy amount of time to mix with this machine. Have a call into KA support line.

    William
  • I’ve had a Pro 600 for about 3 years and have made hundreds of loaves of bread, most being 75% to 100% whole grain. I keep the dough hook speeds at 1 or 2 and only once exceeded 7 cups of whole grain flour because it strained the mixer. Soaking the whole grain flour in soakers or bigas (medium consistency dough) may help reduce strain as well and I almost always do that for bread reasons – not mixer reasons. The mixer may break today, but so far my experience has been good.

    Loren
  • I just got finished mixing a batch of frosting, 1 stick butter, 2 cups confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla. I used the whip that came with the machine, pro 600, 6qt. Is this machine too big to mix small batches? I had the artisan before this and never had problems mixing small batches evenly. It seems like the whip doesn’t hit the bottom of the bowl enough to scrape up the ingredients and mix them properly. Anyone else have this issue? Should I buy the 11 wire whip, will that hit the bottom better? Yes, I have the bowl set properly. Thanks

    pam
  • I have been waiting a long time to buy the professional 600 kitchen aid. I am soooo disappointed. I really can’t understand all the fabulous reviews. I really don’t and can’t have a cement mixer on my counter while children are asleep. The main reason I bought it was for bread and it just can’t do the job. I understand now that although it can pull in a lot of electricity, it does not have the torque. Its a blow, a big waste of money (and I have no more). I did have it replaced once thinking this MUST be a lemon, but my second one is just as loud and overheats immediately too with sourdough. I’m just sad. I will be sure to alert everyone I know who is thinking about this product to find another brand. I did ask them if they would exchange it for their artisan, as my old artisan was a good machine, but they said no. I will try to sell it because just looking at it makes my blood pressure rise! Sorry so negative, but really, it must be said.

    Jamie
  • I have three mixers, a 35 yr old Kitchen Aid K45, a Pro 600 that is a few years old, and an Assistent N28 that I received about 6 weeks ago. The old K45 is still a great machine and fully functional and I will keep it to run my Kitchen Aid attachments (meat grinder and shredder). I bought the Pro 600 when I was unable to get a replacement bowl hold-down fixture for the K45 – which I later found for $16. I bought a “reconditioned” Pro 600 expecting a unit with some cosmetic defects. What I got was a machine that was tearing itself apart as it dropped metal particles onto the top of the dough hook from the drive shaft bushing. They cheerfully replaced it with a new one, which when I turned it on went immediately to speed 10 – irrespective of the speed setting. I returned that one and got one that was just noisy – enough so that I have to wear my ear protectors when using the mixer. My theory is that they don’t actually recondition anything, so “refurbished” is not a good description – they clearly don’t even test them. They just ship the rejects around until they find somebody who lives with it. I agree with the comments about getting hot – that seems to be a design problem with the fan attached to the motor shaft and not big enough to reject the heat produced by the larger motor at inefficient low speeds. Thus the caution in the manual to not run the dough hook at anything above speed 2 and not for more than 5 min at a time. Totally useless in my view. I have been trying to wear it out by kneading bread at higher speed with the paddle attachment (4 min at speed 4 for a 1 Kg batch of 75% hydration dough). It keeps getting louder (partly a result of a plastic gear housing I think) but it hasn’t failed yet. In any case, I finally got tired of it and decided to get something new. I selected the Assistent over the Bosch or the Hobart N50. The Assistent takes some getting use to and you have to convert your recipes to use it, but I am routinely making 3 Kg batches of ciabatta and running with the dough hook at speed 6 (out of 8) for 25 or 30 min to fully develop the gluten. No complaints, and it doesn’t walk around on the counter unless you are mixing a smaller batch of stiff dough at high speed with the roller and have either flour or oil on the counter. I have found that the roller works best for batch sizes below 2 Kg and the dough hook is preferred for batches that have more than 1 Kg of liquid. In between you have a choice.

    Doc
  • I’ve had my KA Pro 600 for over a year and have made hundreds of loaves of bread. My typical batch is 10 cups of flour (6 bread flour and 4 whole wheat). With this I turn out 4 one pound loaves of bread. Sometimes I add things like nuts and raisins to this and it still works just fine. I doubt I will make anything larger. I only use speeds 1 and 2 for bread. Once mixed, I just use speed for 2 minutes. I then allow a 20 minute rest and put it back on 2 for about 30-45 seconds. No problems. Noise? I suppose there is some but to be honest I don’t notice it.

    I have tried the ice cream attachment and it works well. It would probably do better with someone who had more freezer space.

    Mike
  • well here is my tale…I have had the ks55(I think) for 19 years no problem ever. I bought the KA heavy duty 5 1/2 qt mixer. Ihad this for 1 1/2 months and it just burned up. KA told me that I used too many ingredients. That in this mixer ALL ingredients together should not be over 5 cups and that includes water, flour, salt, yeast, etc. WELL, their book for french bread lists 7 c flour! Only after telling the lady what their book said did they offer to replace it. This mixer had a burning smell from day 1. I too trusted KA! I am very disappointed with their customer service and their product!

    Pam
  • Old Kitchenaid mixers were made like tanks, new kitchenaid mixers just look like tanks and work like cheap. I would get a bosch, I have never worried about how much ingreedients I put in my bosch, whether it is 4 cups or 15 cups it handles it with pride.

    farvey
  • I wish I would have read this 6 months ago. I had been using my mom’s old KA for the last 8 years. While it still runs, it needs a good service to grease it and keep it running, I wanted a new KA Pro 600 thinking that I could do a little more with it. I was using the old machine every other day to make 2 loaves of bread. Since I had always had good luck with it, I assumed (Yep! WE all know what that means!) that the bigger machine would allow me to make more bread at once and cut down my efforts. My sweet husband bought me a new 600 for Christmas! Now, I couldn’t be more disappointed!

    I have been trying to make 3 loaves of bread at one time (and would do more if it could handle it), using no more than 9 cups of white flour. It cannot handle it. As many others have mentioned, I get that burning smell and the machine shuts off. It was also making a wierd jerking motion as it tried to knead the dough. I am guessing that it has to do with the gears, but haven’t taken it apart to investigate.

    I finally called KA today and they were very kind. They are sending me out a new replacement, but I am not even excited. I was really frustrated in talking to the customer service rep. I didn’t use too much flour, I never took the speed past 2 while kneading dough. I just let the machine mix for 10 minutes to knead and develop the gluten like it needs. The old machine handled it no problem. Instead, she tells me that I should only mix it until the dough begins to climb up the hook and then it is done. It isn’t “done” at that point. (I know, as the first time it acted up and started smelling and getting hot, I panicked, and shut the machine off and tried to finish the kneading by hand. It didn’t work and the texture was off. The loaves were like bricks. We didn’t spend $400 to knead the dough by hand! I will take that new replacement since I can’t get my money back and use it for smaller, lighter jobs, but you can bet that I won’t be recommending KA products anytime in the future! I am so very disappointed.

    I wish we would have spent the money on a Bosch.

    BettyC
  • I have had the KA Pro 600 for several months now so feel able to make some comments about its performance. That being said, I have never had a stand mixer before so have no point of comparison in that regard.
    One of the major reasons for buying the mixer was to make bread. As others have mentioned, it was disappointing to find that I can only make two loaves of bread at a time. When I tried to make four loaves, the motor shut down. For making two loaves, the machine works fine. For certain tasks/recipes that utilize small quantities, however, it grinds quite a bit until whatever you are mixing/whipping expands, such as egg whites or whipped cream. So my disappointment is that I cannot help but wonder if the smaller, less expensive model would have also made two loaves equally as well.
    I do plan to buy the pasta attachments and am hoping they work well. But will certainly try to find some consumer reviews first!!

    Janet
  • I’ve had the KS55 (heavy duty) for around 10 years. Made many loaves of 100% whole wheat bread (5-6 Cups flour)for 2 loaves. Mine could not handle the grain attachment. Between that and wanting to make larger batches, I bought the Pro 600. It was VERY noisy and lasted only 2 months, tops. I was grinding hard red wheat flour 2-3 days/week and hard white wheat another 2 days/week. The motor stopped working while under the grinder load. Just received my replacement and it is much quieter–more like the KS55. I’m wondering if this means anything…..

    Patty
  • Well, I can see this is not just my problem but a common problem of most of the people here. I too bought KA 600 Pro, after having a KA Ultra Power (KSM90) for about 8 years (which I had bought used from a friend). I too bought the 600 Pro with much expectation to do more with it than what I was able to do with the Ultra Power. First of all, my Ultra Power had no issues with making bread doughs, I had two bowls to make two full batches back to back. And it did not give me any problem, never shut down, smell, etc., although I could tell it was a bit stressed when I did stiff dough and full amount sometimes. I also always make WW and white mixed (50/50).
    When I got the Pro 600, I had something to compare it with, so I had expected it to be much stronger, as it is 575 watts vs. 300 in my previous UltraPower, I expected to make much bigger batch of dough as it was 6 qt. vs. 4.5 qts. The box even says it can handle 15 cups of flour!! But from the first batch it started smelling like burning and then a few minutes later I could even see some smoke coming out from the head. I called KA and told the problem, they said they never had this kind of issues (which is a complete lie as I can see so many people with the same problem), but they offered to replace without a question. That was nice. So I got the second mixer, try it again, same problem. They sent me another one. Same old story. I knew by the second one it wasn’t the first mixer’s problem, but it was ALL newer KA problem. But I had to agree to the third mixer as that is the only way they would finally give my money back. Then I got an upgrade to a KA Commercial 5 Series, which is supposed to be certified for commercial use. I tried it out. Not much difference in the bread dough kneading, and also when I used the grinder attachment, with the first try I heard something like a popping noise then it sounded like the machine was falling apart. I stopped it and called KA and they agreed to buy back my machine. I haven’t received my refund yet, but they are supposed to send it to me.
    Now, after all these, I still haven’t given up my love for KA stand mixers yet because of my experience with my Ultra Power and due to what I have heard about the Hobart made mixers. So now, I’m turning to Ebay and looking for a good used Hobart made K5SS. I hope I will find a good one, which I believe I will as I see them come up time to time. I think more and more people will be looking for them, though. I would also suggest looking on Craigslist for a good used one. But as with anything, used ones don’t come with warranty, so I would make sure it was not an abused machine.

    KL
  • Let me just add that I had bought the 600 Pro in Dec. 2010, and they said all these newer machines don’t have any plastic parts or whatever they used before. Also, the Commercial 5 series I bought was all metal gear and metal gear box, they said, with something (I don’t remember which part) more durable than the 600 Pro. But both of them had issues. I DO NOT recommend the newer KA mixers at all. Buy the Hobart made ones or some of the older Ultra Power and K5SS (maybe from the 80’s-90’s) are good. I think up to certain point KA made them with the same parts they used earlier. My Ultra Power was not a Hobart made one and it was good, so that’s why I think they made them with the same parts as they did with Hobart ones. Its hard to know when they stopped making the good ones, so do some research!!

    KL
  • I would like to comment on the KA Professional 600.

    These mixers work great for large batches of cookie dough, however they can not stand up to my Whole Wheat recipe that makes 4 large loaves. I make all my own bread, but with my arthritis, it is too hard for me to mix and knead. Previously, the motor has simply stopped working. It gets too hot and stops. Eventually, it won’t go at all. This has happened to 2 or 3 of my machines.

    This time however, it seems that it has stripped the gears and gets stuck when rotating the dough hook and will not work for any mixing at all now.

    I need to good heavy duty knead/mixer machine and have no idea what to buy.

    Loraine Ronne
  • Loraine,
    When it comes to mixing bread, nothing I have use beats a Bosch Universal Plus mixer. I have seen it make 9 loaves of 100 percent whole wheat bread dough in one bowl, that is a lot of power. The average lifetime of a Bosch mixer is about 17 years or more. It does cost around $400+ but well worth it in the long run. The Bosch can make cookies with the dough hook but I would buy the cookie paddles with it because the do a much better job.

    BMD
  • After reading all this I have to say That I am glad that I have a KA 600. Got it for Christmas last year. I love it! Sorry to the folks who would rather or need to make 6 loaves of bread at a time. It mashes potatoes, mixes cookies, cakes,and bread and does it with out a problem for me. I Love, Love, Love my 600!

    Guinevere
  • We have a KA 600 and I regularily make 2-3 loaves of bread in it! We love it!

    Kenneth
  • Almost ordered the KA Pro 600 this morning from Amazon for $260.00 with an extra $50.00 mail in rebate. After reading these reviews, have decided not to purchase this item. The older reviews were kinda scary but figured they fixed all the issues, until I read the reviews from the past few months. The price is awesome on this machine, but if it won’t do what it’s supposed to do, it’s pretty much worthless, regardless of the price. Thanks to everyone for posting their reviews of this machine. They were all very helpful.

    Joyce
  • Bought a KA K5SS in 1992, Made in USA – (Hobart?). Have made around 1500 one pound loaves of bread (4 at a time, 2050 grams wet weight) at speed 1 to 2 with no problems. Tried 5 loaves once but motor started to load down so went back to 4. Lots of other cookies, cakes, cheese cake, etc. Still making bread. No problems.

    John
  • Really enjoyed your blog Cheers for showing for us.

    Madeline Johnson
  • Really enjoyed your site Thanks for posting for us.

    Marcus Barton
  • I purchased the Pro 600, and used it for the first time last night. I was overwhelmingly disappointed. I bought it to make bread, and it kept shorting out and shutting down. I had 8 cups of flour in there, the directions say not to put more than 14! So it should be able to handle 8!
    Additional cons:
    -The dough was riding the hook
    -the stainless steel bowl was flexing while it was mixing
    -the top metal strip around the whole head of the mixer is slightly indented, as if they pulled it too tight around, and as my kids poured flour in the bowl some got stuck there, extremely difficult to clean out!
    -The motor got louder and quieter as it strained to mix 8 cups of flour

    If you are a serious bread baker, this is not for you!

    Rochelle
  • Rochelle,
    Was this 8 cups of white flour or whole wheat flour?

    BMD
  • Purchased the Pro 600 3.5 years ago. It just died. We were disappointed in the short life of this thing especially after reading/hearing about people that had these mixers for 20+ years. We spent extra and bought the heaviest duty one we could afford because we planned to use it a lot. I guess they don’t make them like they used to.

    Here is my problem- I called customer service to see what, if anything could be done. To my surprise they said
    1. You shouldn’t kneed bread dough more than 2 min. Really??
    2. Professional series doesn’t mean anything, Um OK. Why put it on there then?

    In short, this will be the last KitchenAid product we buy.

    ES
  • Well, I have read all these comments and came away with the feeling that as long as we’re not making loaves of bread like they’re going out of style or for a small army then we should really love the KA Pro600. My mom has one and she does what I would refer to as casual baking. We have a wedding gift gift card that we are going to put towards the KA Pro or the KA Artisan. We are leaning towards the Pro. My TV has a volume control so I don’t really care about the nose it makes. Thank you so much for the great blog post/review of the KA Pro600! Also, thanks for the reviews and comments, both + and -.

    Brad
  • I bought one of the 600 Pro mixers this year and absolutely love it. Just this morning I made 4 loaves of french bread using the recipe in the book which works great. The 600 has amazing power.

    Greg
  • I own, for now, a Pro 600 mixer. I purchased it because it was the best I could get without shelling out 2k for a Hobart. First mistake. Didn’t know about the 100% incapability but mine broke on a 20% Fanny F. dough (I only had one cup of whole wheat left). Broke the bowl mounts clean off. I thought it was the new weak lift arms which look as though they are going to fold every time I use it, sorry used it. Which totals 5 times, making a total of 8 loaves of bread and one sad cake. It barely had enough power for a 2 loaf recipe bogging down to a dead stop at one point after the second time stopping it to make sure that the dough was getting kneaded. I think they misspelled their marketing it should be flower power not flour power. Called Whirlpool for help and they suggested I buy a new bowl. I will one up them I am selling the machine

    Scott
  • I bought a Pro 600 and had it sent to me in Ghana. My problem is that our voltage level here is 220V and since it’s from the US, it’s 110v. I was trying to find a step down adopter but recently read on the mixer that it should not be connected to any adopter. I need some help because i cannot wait to use my mixer.

    Rebecca
  • Now there is a website with recipes for KitchenAid Mixer

    Go to http://www.gotmixer.com

    Great and easy recipes using your stand mixer with pics, videos and hints.

    Good luck and lets get baking!!!

    Carol
  • If your serious about small mixers, don’t fool around with the Kitchen Aids. Get a Globe: planetary gears, good power, tough and durable. Yes, they are more money, but if you replace your kitchen aid, you will have spend more that the cost of a Globe 5 qt. The globe can be had for about $575 if you shop and the gears won’t fail on you. They also come with a spiral dough hook that works great. If you’re serious about making bread the spiral hook is what you need. There is another post talking about the Globe, it is absolutely accurate. These are tough mixers, what Kitchen Aid was when Hobart built them.

    Brad
  • A friend gifted me a KA, I think 4.5 quarts in 1998. This past Christmas my husband got me the KA Professional 600. My sister made bagels using my old mixer with no problems so we were excited to make bagels using the Porofessional one! Well, when we started to knead smoke started coming out of the machine and it shut down so the next day I took it to Bed Bath to replace it. My husbank wanted me to make another batch to prove that it was just a lemon! Well needless to say we are going back to the store for a refund! I think I’m going with the Viking Stand mixer or might have to take my old KA from my sister. The new KA’s are not made the same as the old ones … oh well.

    Lizette
  • Have the KA PRO 600 with the 6-quart bowl. The bowl has been mis-manufactured so the flat mixer blade hits on the back of the bowl but has clearance at the front. In fact, the mixer blade raises up at least an 1/8th inch and there’s lots of noise whenever it works at the back part of the bowl. The blade cannot be removed when the unit is off and the stand is lowered (of course), when by chance (a 50/50) the blade stops at the back. No, this is NOT because I don’t have the bowl clipped in all the way. Please..duh. You can see the two 90 degree brackets that are spot welded to the bowl were welded slightly tilted forward, it is very obvious. The bowl then sits tilted forward. At first, we thought this was the way it was designed…but after a few minutes use you can see it is a manufacturing mistake. The tilt will not allow proper blade to bowl adjustment clearance. I’ll have to head back down to Macy’s to get a new bowl.

    Brad2
  • We have had our KA 600 for a few years now, its the all metal gear version and its a definite let down compared to older KA models. We use it to make bread and had a good recipe that my mother in law uses in her Bosch mixer with no problems. First time we tried that recipe the KA overheated and shut down before it was fully kneaded. I had to install a cooling fan in the base to force air through the motor, speed 2 that you have to use while mixing does not spin the motor fast enough for the built in fan to move enough air to cool the motor, bad design. Now the motor doesnt overheat all the time but we still cant use the original bread recipe, about 8 cups flour. Now have to limit it to 4 cups or less. We have the noodle maker attachement that we do like but the first time we used it the gears on the mixer broke the teeth off of them. Ordered replacements, they are cheap zinc gears not steel. used the mixer again for a few months, gears broke again, ordered new gears, again, now a few months later its ready for another new set of gears. I cannot recommend this mixer to anyone that wants to use it to make bread or pasta. Its suited to runny cake mixes only. PLus its terribly noisy. The bosch is a much better machine.

    melissa56
  • what has been said on here is true. I bought a ka600 pro 6 qt., off ebay. It was a mexican one and while grinding pork, it stripped gears. I say it was mexican because it had a mexican warranty. Anyways, i didn’t get it repaired, i bought the same one at kohls and returned the other in the box.the new one i have had for 3 years now, and it runs like a champ, and i routinely grind semi frozen meats and like 30lbs at a time and then stuff into sausages. The gears are having no problems

    Mike
  • Hi,
    I just bought a Kitchenaid 6-qt (5.7 L) Stand Mixer Pro 6500. I know nothing. I’ve been using a regular hand mixer to make just cakes and cookies. I’m baking atleast twice a week and i made pizza dough with hand so i have been looking for a kitchenaid mixer for a long time. Costco had it on sale for 379.99 so i bought it but i can’t find any information on it online. I don’t know anything about mixer and i haven’t even taken mine out of the box yet.
    The features included are:

    1.0 HP
    6 quart (5.7 L) flanged bowl
    All metal gears with advanced controls
    Optimize in-bowl torque with less heat build up
    White coated flat beater and dough hook- 6 wire whip
    Residential attachment hub?

    But i don’t now what watts it is. I don’t know if this is a good mixer since i can’t find any information online on it. Overall i’m not sure if i should keep it or return it. Any help would be great. Thanks

    Numaira
  • Numaira,

    The Pro 6500 is new and exclusive to Costco at the moment so there are no review and no information out about it except what is printed on the box. I was told that it is 746 Watts. You should tell us how good it works for you if you decide to use it.

    BMD
  • There was just a correction on the Costco site, the mixer is a 6000, not a 6500.

    Why not try it out, Costco will take it back if you are not 100% satisfied. Thats the main reason I buy at Costco.

    CD
  • I was a little worried after reading the reviews here – especially about the noise and the dough hook and about not being able to wash the accessories in the dishwasher etc. This time around, unlike my usual pattern, I bought this mixer without doing my research but based on KA’s reputation and the fact that all chefs etc. seem to use it. There was a great special on the Pro 600, 575W, 6 Quart bowl so I bought it. Anyway, the machine arrived two days ago. It has a burnished dough hook and paddle as well as a coated paddle. I was really worried about it being noisy etc. By the way, I also bought the two pasta pack attachment and the shredder/slicer, strainer and mincer attachments. Well, I made pasta last night – eggless pasta and it turned out fantastic. I also made a cake and some bread. All of which were easy peasy to make with this machine. So far, I am loving it. I don’t find it noisy at all and find it very efficient. Thanks for all the comments here. There was some useful advice.

    Merril Christie
  • I was a committed customer of KA. Then it all started to get noisy and break. Then I learned Whirlpool owns it now; That explains everything, they are still riding on the success of the original workers.

    Dave
  • Hi there everyone,
    I’m yet another neg feedback I’m afraid. I actually have the KA so called professional plus 5 and I wish I had read this before buying a KA. Like others,I remember my mother’s mixer sitting in the corner – she baked thousand’s of w/wheat loaves every week for 5 kids for 25 years. I too was making bread dough (about 5 days after the 1 year warranty expired) and the gears stripped. Yes it was WW but about 6 cups of flour and yes it was under the recommended time. When I rang to at least see if there was a repair centre I could take it too, it costs more to repair than buy another. Piece of c@%p! No more KA for me either. Thanks for all your comments I am going to have to do some serious research on the other machines you have mentioned.

    Sandy
  • I gave away my 4 1/2qt. KitchenAid that worked flawlessly for years when I bought my 6qt. Pro600 18 months ago. I make a couple batches of bread a week, 3 1/2 cups of flour each, a white flour Italian or an egg dough. On my first mix long ago I knew this mixer couldn’t handle a double 7 cup batch. I thought then, why did I buy it? The box’s claim was a lie. It’s also much louder than my old mixer. I continued to mix my single batches until today, it broke. Gears are clicking, hook doesn’t move, warranty expired 6 months ago. I’m sick. I’ll Ship it to the Ohio repair center and hope now they use better quality parts. Do Not Buy the 6qt. Professional 600.

    Ed
  • Can KA Pro 600 hold 20 cups of flour? I want to get a stand mixer that can hold that much so I can make a batch of loaves.

    NerGaL
  • I just got one… doubt it would hold 20 cups… I did a 8 cup recipe of pizza dough, and it started smoking just like other folks in this thread… disappointing.

    TxDough
  • A few years (6 or 7) ago, I bought my Kitchenaid Pro 600 from a friend who was wanting something smaller, and he had never really used it, but knew that I was one to bake…and bake…and bake…and bake…and bake. You get the picture. Well, from the get-go the noise was worrisome – to say the least! But I proceeded to use it anyway, and here I am 7+ years later and my KA Pro 600 and I are going just as strong as ever. We’ve made no less than (I’m guessing here) probably 500+ loaves of bread (easily) 4 loaves at a time, who knows how many cookies, cakes, etc. and divinity! Anyone here made divinity before??? May the Lord help you if you do! The stuff is a mess! But the KA Pro 600 kept on a truckin’! Oh, you could hear it bog down, but never quit! My mother and I tried to make divinity a long time ago and burned up several different mixers that just weren’t up to the challenge, but this one…This Kitchanaid…THIS one – is a champ!!!!! A BEAST! I love it! If you haven’t gathered, I am hard( to say the least) on appliances!!! I really am! I find out what they are supposedly capable of and think “That’s what they SAY, so I bet it can do more.” This Kitchenaid is a winner! So it’s a little loud – who cares?!? I want results! and if it takes a little noise to get them? SO BE IT! I don’t want some little wuss machine that can’t hold it’s own – not in my kitchen! Buy it and be happy! It has a place of honor in my kitchen right on my counter, and that’s where it stays – always at the ready! By-the-way, I’ve used up to I think about 14 or 15 cups of flour in mine? and I was kneading for about 6 or so minutes if I recall correctly. Hope this helps anyone still wondering.

    Chris
  • Just bought a kitchen aid 600 stand mixer, it seems very loud much louder than our 12 year old professional, is this the noem for these mixers

    Jessie Sanford

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