“Got this after using a friend's. Mainly for bread making. Does an excellent job of kneading dough of all kinds. Really good for wetter doughs which canbe difficult to handle. Also made sponge cakes and just about to try it on rich fruit cake. As others report, the mixer can be left working, it does not move at all on the worktop. Easy to clean and I expect it to outlive me although I am a bit older so it may only have to do a couple of decades.”
“Ive had the Ankarsrum for about four years now. It replaced a good Kenwood mixer that had a broken gearbox. That will never happen on an Ankarsrum because the engineering is different - the bread-making function is not driven by a gearbox, as it is with a planetary mixer. That means you can make large quantities of dough without fear of stressing the machine, and you can work the machine all day long without any problem. You can see that the Ank is completely unstressed by turning it up to full speed with a load of dough in the bowl, and standing back to watch. It's rock-steady and doesn't move an inch. Any planetary mixer would shake itself off the worksurface and on to the floor if you did this. And if you want to make doughs with a really good gluten structure the Ankarsrum can work the dough for as long as you like without creating much mechanical heat...the dough remains at a good temperature even after 15 or 20 minutes of kneading. This makes it ideal for sourdough, but also works for enriched breads like brioche. It took me a while to learn how to get the best from the Ank, and I think it works the dough more gently than a planetary mixer - more like the stretching motion of a French baker's hands. So for most of my breads I do knead for 15 minutes or so to get a really good development. With a planetary mixer, this wasn't possible because the machine would overheat - bad for the machine, and for the dough, which became far too hot.
As a general-purpose domestic mixer, the Ank is very versatile. It does all the whipping, cake batters etc etc that you'd expect, and there are so many attachments for almost everything else. I use it for mincing and sausage-making, pasta-rolling for pappardelle, ravioli and so on. But it's the bread-making function that really distinguishes this machine from the rest. For anyone serious about making bread at home, this machine has a clear advantage over the planetary type. It's also a very stylish and beautifully-made quality piece - really a delight to use.”
“I have used a different American hard working mixer for 20 years but I now wanted a machine that would be more freindly to me as I am less able. I chose the Ankarsrum after watching many videos and reading many reviews. I was concerned it would be too heavy for me to handle but it is not. It has a larger footprint than the other mixer but is attractive on the worktop. It is quieter and the roller is excellent. It is very easy to clean as the scraper cleans the bowl as it rotates.
The mixer is amazing! I have only used it for bread dough so far. The dough is light, easy to handle, rises and bakes beautifully. It is the best textured bread that I have made in 20 years to be honest! All the recipes seem to use a little olive oil in them, which I have never included before, maybe that helps too but the process is clean and easy. I will experiment with other recipes from my many bread making books now that I have the Ankarsrum method perfected.
I have used the two rise method suggested by Ankarsrum since trialing the mixer but I have always used a poolish method for the dough and the mixer handles this well too. The short video shows mixing a two kilo load of wholewheat bread.
I am looking forward to many years of baking fun with this mixer and would recommend it. My sons are queueing up to inherit it, as they do in Swedish familes!”
What a lovely review! Thank you very much for taking the time to do it, you have really demonstrated the kneading function. Glad you like your Assistent!
“So far so absolutely great. It was a replacement for a Buffalo spiral mixer which died on me and wasn't immediately repairable so I decided to try this out. Whilst the hook works too kneading with the roller works really well and the timer helps too. Looking forward to long service.”
“Excellent for making bread using either the dough hook or the dough roller, the roller is also ideal for making pasta dough. I made about 1.5kg of egg-free pasta dough in under 20 minutes. The time saved and ease of making the pasta is another reason why this machine is worth the money.”
Thank you for your lovely review Phil, I'm glad you like your Ankarsrum. It amazes me just how many functions and adaptors there are for these machines.
