#Kenwood vs. Kitchen Aid: which mixer is best?

My trusty Kitchen Aid how would it compare?

I recently decided to try out the Kenwood Chef against my beloved Kitchen Aid to see how I thought the two machines would compare. I was really keen to give this a go.

The Kenwood Chef Titanium

Kitchen Aid stand mixers seem to be so popular and have been for many years. They are a lifestyle choice for so many people. What does it say about you and your kitchen to have a snazzy top of the range mixer permanently gracing your kitchen counter? Sounds silly, but I think lots of people see it this way – they can’t be taken seriously as a keen home cook without one, perhaps? I have to say though; they are a complete lifesaver for professional bakers and keen cooks just like me.  The stand mixer has completely revolutionized the way I cook, which has been great for me and so many others. Hands free cake and bread making really does speed up the amount of time spent in the kitchen, and especially if, like me, you are in there all day most days, that can make such a difference to your day.

Prejudices well and truly cast aside, I set about choosing my recipe. I was really in the mood for some good granary bread, so here is the recipe I used:

  Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 500g Organic granary bread flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 300ml warm water
• 2 tsp. sunflower oil

Method:

1)   Preheat the oven to 200C

2)   Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer

3)   Whisk the oil into the water

4)   Pour the water into the bowl of the stand mixer and mix with the dough hook on the stand mixer to combine. I set both machines to run on speed 2 until all the flour was worked into the dough

The Kitchen Aid in Action

The Kitchen Aid dough ready to be left to rise

The Kenwood dough ready to rise

6)   After an hour, place the bowls back onto the stand mixers and knead the dough on speed 2 for 5 minutes