Bread Making Just Got Easier

Bread making just got easier, my friends. You know how much I love making bread, dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls. I’ve talked about Pleasant Hill Grain before because I love their products.

Recently I received an email from them to see if I was willing to do a review on six dough makers. This has been an honor and a huge project at the same time to do this for them.

Everything I write today is accurate, honest, and my own review. I’ve been dying to try out each and every one of these dough makers. You may know that I have a Bosch, I had my first one for about 25 years.

I gave it to my daughter when she got married. It’s still making a lot of bread to this day.

I made whole wheat bread with every dough maker this week, so I could compare them equally. Please note, I tried white and wheat in the Famag bread mixer. It’s my favorite bread maker, just giving you the heads up, here.

Be sure and check out the specifications. They will give you an idea of how much bread dough you can mix up in each machine. So, now let’s get started making bread and mixing up some dough.

Related Topic: Easy To Make Dinner Rolls For Two

Bread Making Just Got Easier

When you are making bread, you don’t want to spend all day doing it. Bread making just got a whole lot easier. Sometimes you just want to have all the details laid out for you, which is what I’ve done here. I’ve done all the bread machine reviewing, so you can just simply choose which one you want to try or buy.

1. NutriMill Artiste Stand Mixer

This dough maker is a really good machine. It has strong feet on the unit that made bread mixing so much easier. It stayed in place through the ten minute kneading time my recipe calls for when making whole wheat bread.

I highly recommend this for the serious cook/baker who makes 2 loaves a week, or my full 8 one-pound whole wheat loaves recipe. You can also make cookies, whip cream, pancakes, etc. There are a lot of accessories that can be purchased to go with it. To order this one: NutriMill Artiste Stand Mixer

Colors Available:

The Nutrimill Artiste stand mixer is available with black, red, or silver trim.

Optional Accessories Available:

I love that this unit can use the Bosch Universal Plus attachments, such as the Spiralizer, Pasta Maker, Meat Grinder, Large Slicer Shredder, Ice Cream Maker, Citrus Juicer, and Flour Sifter, and more.

PROS:

Great suction on the countertop. It’s easy to add flour while kneading. Super easy to clean.

CONS:

I have no cons on this one. I wanted to be honest and give the pros and cons of each bread maker that I reviewed.

Specifications:

• 650 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 10 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 6.4 pounds
• 5.5-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 12 inches
• Weight: 15 pounds

2. Bosch Compact Mixer

This dough maker is awesome for the person looking to make only 1-4 loaves of bread. I mixed up 7 cups of whole wheat flour and it worked great. It’s exactly what it says, compact, and will look great on any countertop. It’s a perfect size for making cookies, pancake batter, and whipping cream.

My 7-cup recipe makes 4 one-pound loaves of bread. Please remember, making whole wheat bread to me is actually easier, but it takes a strong machine to knead it. I made whole wheat bread with every dough maker this week so I could compare them equally. To order this one: Bosch Compact Mixer

Optional Accessories Available:

There are some great accessories available, like a blender, compact food processor, compact continuous slicer shredder, and a compact citrus juicer.

PROS:

Great little machine with power. It’s easy to clean, and store.

CONS:

I have no cons on this one.

Specifications:

• 400 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 6 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 3.8 pounds
• 4-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 15.25 inches or 10.25 inches with head down
• Weight: 11 pounds

3. WonderMix Revolution Deluxe

This dough maker works well with 7 cups of whole wheat flour. Please keep in mind that mixing up whole wheat flour requires a stronger machine compared to white bread flour. I cut my recipe in half to use this one.

The bowl works really great when filling and mixing. The overall machine did not wiggle at all when mixing the bread dough. It’s a bit noisier than I was expecting, however. I love how easy it is to clean after using it.

This dough maker has a great dough hook, it’s strong and sturdy. I easily made 4 one-pound loaves with this one. If you want to order this one: WonderMix Revolution Mixer

Optional Accessories Available:

The WonderMix Grain & Seed Mill, The WonderMix Flaker Mill, The WonderMix Meat Grinder, and a set of stainless drums (to use with the slicer-shredder attachment).

PROS:

It has a great dough hook and is so easy to add flour to while kneading. Super easy to clean.

CONS:

It’s noisy. Some of you may not care about this issue. However, noise can be a huge factor for others.

Specifications:

• 900 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 10 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 6.4 pounds
• 5.5-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 12 inches
• Weight: 13 pounds

4. Bosch Universal Plus Mixer

This Bosch dough maker does well with my 14-cup whole wheat recipe. It’s easy to add flour as you are kneading the dough. If you want to order this one: Bosch Universal Plus Mixer

Optional Accessories Available:

The available accessories include a MX3 blender, vacuum blender, grain mill, TS5 slicer shredder, mini dough hook, LS1 slicer shredder, extra disks for the slicer shredder, dough hook extender, stainless steel dough hook, a bowl scraper, the baker’s package which includes new cake paddles, cookie paddles, metal whip drive, and a bowl scraper.

There is also an MM3 food processor, a flour sifter, and an ER2 stainless locking bowl for the Universal Plus. You can purchase a universal citrus juicer, a meat grinder, a meat grinder pasta (noodle) attachment, universal meat grinder berry press, universal meat grinder blades, universal meat grinder grating attachment, and universal meat grinder disks 2-13MM.

The new L’Chef pasta sets for the Bosch Universal Plus and NutriMill Artiste mixers include a pasta roller, spaghetti cutter, fettuccine cutter, and adapter leg. You can purchase a pasta roller, a fettuccine cutter, and a meat grinder attachment are available.

PROS:

This dough maker can easily knead my 14-cup whole wheat bread recipe. But you can also make cookies, pie crust, and whip cream in it.

It’s easy to clean and store.

CONS:

I can’t say there are any cons.

Specifications:

• 800 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 14 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 8 pounds
• 6.5-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 10.6 inches
• Weight: 12-3/4 pounds

5. Ankarsrum® Stand Mixer

This machine is very, very quiet while kneading the bread dough and did not move at all on the countertop. Today I made freshly ground whole wheat bread using about 14 cups of flour in this batch.

I like the fact that the bowl is deep and I can add flour as needed, and it stays inside the bowl while being mixed/kneaded. You can mix up to 11.5 pounds of dough in this gem.

The Ankarsrum® Stand Mixer comes with a BPA-free plastic bowl that will hold 18 egg whites to make a meringue. It’s perfect for creaming your butter and eggs for your favorite cookie recipe.

You can see below the “roller” on the right inside the bowl. It also has a “bowl scraper” on the left.

I had read where bakers in Europe tend to use a roller when mixing their bread, so I was anxious to try the roller in this machine. It may have been too much for the roller’s design to use 14 cups of whole wheat flour, but none the less this unit does a great job working the dough!

About 5 minutes into the kneading process I could see I needed the bread hook, so I switched it out.

I started with the dough roller and the dough scraper in this large stainless steel bowl. You heard me right, it has a dough scraper! If you want to order this one: Ankarsrum® Stand Mixer

I ended up switching them out for the dough hook just to see how it worked. They both work great.

Colors Available:

There are a number of colors available, including Gloss White, Red, Jubilee Silver, Black Chrome, Black Diamond, Pearl Orange, Royal Blue Matte, Ocean Blue, Forest Green Matte, Light Creme, Shiny Lilac, Sparkling Gold, Creme, and Pearl Pink.

Optional Accessories Available:

The unit has some very helpful accessories, including a Blender, Food Processor/Cutter, Drum Extender, Grain Mill, Flaker Mill, Food and Meat Grinder Combo, Additional Grinder Disks, Strainer, Grater & Nut Grinder, Pasta Disks, Cookie Press, Sausage Stuffer, Fettuccine Cutter, Spaghetti Cutter, Tagliatelle Cutter, Lasagna Roller, and a Citrus juicer.

PROS:

This dough maker is sturdy and does not budge on the countertop. It’s very easy to clean. You can make cookies, pancake batter, or whip cream in this one. It has no trouble mixing up my 14-cup whole wheat bread recipe.

CONS:

I can’t say there are any cons.

Specifications:

• 600 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 11.5 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 6.7 pounds
• 7.5-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 14.25 inches
• Weight: 19 pounds

6. Famag IM-8S Spiral Dough Mixer

This dough maker is the “Cadillac” of bread machines. This is the strongest one I used this week. This unit is truly designed for the serious bread maker with a large family, or one who entertains and cooks for larger groups. I would have loved having this one when I was raising my four daughters. If you want to order one go here: Famag IM-8S Spiral Dough Mixer

It has no trouble handling large batches of freshly ground whole wheat bread dough. And it’s quiet at the same time! Look at the dough hook, below. Today I also tried making white bread, check out how smooth the dough is, amazing! The white bread dough is truly smoother than any I’ve ever made, which is saying something since I’ve been making bread for decades.

Colors Available:

You’ll have lots of colors to chose from, including Arctic White, Silver, Steel, Charcoal, Maraschino, Oyster, Ruby, Lemon Gelato, and Marina.

The Dough Hook

This is no ordinary dough hook, it’s amazing! As I watched the spiral dough hook knead my dough, I was impressed by how it was kneading the dough. It was slower (low impact) than I expected, but was actually doing a better job compared to any other machine I have used. It completely avoids over-mixing or overheating the dough. This over-sized spiral dough hook is perfect for mixing up bread dough.

Optional Accessories Available:

There are two carts you may like, one measures 20″ x 12″ x 26.5″ and is large enough and strong enough for this Famag bread maker. The other one is a Haussler utility cart that is also stable, strong and very attractive to use as well.

PROS:

I’ve made bread for 50+ years and I have never had dough come out so smooth as this machine made it. I kept watching the dough mix and I was in awe how smooth the dough was. It was truly a cartwheel moment for me. This is tops for kneading, in my opinion.

It’s easy to add flour as you mix it in this oversized bowl, that is a bonus for me. It has no problem kneading my 14 cups of freshly ground whole wheat flour.

It’s very quiet, which is an important factor for some who are buying a machine like this.

I have to say that it is easy to clean and that is a major pro for me!

CONS:

It’s heavy, you will need a cart or a specific place to store/use this machine.

Specifications:

• 350 Watts
• Dough Capacity: 22 pounds
• Flour Capacity: 13 pounds
• 11.5-quart bowl capacity
• Height: 28.5 inches
• Weight: 77 pounds
• 1/2 HP

More on Bread Machines

I wanted to share a little more on bread machines and why they might be beneficial to you! The whole point of a bread maker is to save you time and work. I think you will enjoy being able to make bread with ease.

While a bread maker isn’t really necessary, it can help make your baking life a lot easier. Just like you don’t need a washing machine for your clothes, we all realize it helps to make your life more manageable.

A bread maker does the hard work, so you can simply enjoy the bread!

No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

After all this talk about bread machines, I’m hungry! I’m going to share my No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread Recipe with you! I love to make this for holidays and special occasions. Nothing beats warm bread.

Two-One Pound Loaves:

Eight-One Pound Loaves:

Final Word

Here’s the deal, bread making just got easier today. I grew up with a mom making bread in a large silver bowl. Then she would knead it by hand on the counter. If I were to choose my favorite dough maker today it would be the Famag IM-8S Spiral Dough Mixer.

Thank goodness we have options now to make bread so much easier. This is one more way to save money on your grocery bill by making bread. May God bless this world, Linda

Bread Making Tips by Linda