Your Kitchenaid Mixer?

[GFAnnie]

Now that I've bombarded you with questions about avoiding rice flours, it's clear to me that I need to start making our own gluten free, rice free, corn free breads!  My first thought was "bread machine" but  the more I read the more I get the sense that a Kitchenaid would be a better investment than a bread machine for gluten free bread.  I do have experience with making gluten breads (pre-diagnosis) so it dosesn't intimidate me much, especially since it seems as though gluten free breads are actually easier, except for the mixing.

Soooo... long explantion for the question - which Kitchenaid mixer do you have?  It looks like the lower priced, widely available ones are the classic and the artisan.

If you use the classic, is it powerful enough, as it seems to be the least powerful?

And capacity?  It looks like the 4.5 quart is the smallest.  Is that large enough?  Or should I aim for something larger?  (My whole family has celiac, so I won't be making mini-loaves for one person.)

Tell me about your Kitchenaid please!

[BlessedMommy]

I agree with investing in a Kitchenaid over a bread machine. I rarely ever use my bread machine.

 

Here is a great recipe for sandwich bread. If you substitute guar gum for xanthan gum and use quinoa or sorghum flour in place of the rice flour, it should be gluten free/corn free/rice free.

 

Open Original Shared Link

[GFAnnie]

BlessedMommy - you have been extraordinarily helpful. Thank you!  Which model of Kitchenaid do you have?  And capacity?

[BlessedMommy]

I don't own a Kitchenaid at this point. I've thought about getting one, but with my small kitchen, there's some things that I choose to go without. Maybe when we get a bigger house!

[GFAnnie]

Kitchen size is a huge problem for me too, which is why I've never seriously considered one.  But with all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals coming up, I'm wondering if I should make the leap and get creative with kichen space!

[LauraTX]

I would recommend going for the artisan one if you want something that will last a long time.  It has more durable parts.  Unless you are going to be making huge batches of stuff, the regular 5 qt one is good for most families.

[lpellegr]

The 5 qt (and I think the smaller size) can handle a 4-cup bread recipe when I double a 2-cup recipe, so you should have no problems making 2 loaves at a time or 1 large loaf.  If you do a lot of baking consider getting a second bowl so that you can make another recipe while the first one is being washed (I'm too lazy to wash by hand sometimes).  Also consider getting the special loaf pans that King Arthur Flour has for gluten-free bread - they really do a nice job, and you get square slices instead of short wide slices from a regular loaf pan.

[SMRI]

Kohl's has amazing online deals for Kitchen Aid mixers.  The Artisian is $99 after rebates and Kohl's cash.  The Pro 600 is a Black Friday deal (maybe tonight even) for $399, but then the various codes and Kohl's cash and it should come in around $200 or so...

[squirmingitch]

Lee, are those King Arthur loaf pans higher than most loaf pans?

[GF Lover]

Lee, are those King Arthur loaf pans higher than most loaf pans?

Hey Squirmy,  here is the KA loaf pan.  I'm ordering a couple myself 

[SMRI]

I ended up getting the KA Pro 600.  So far, so good.  I've used it to make a couple batches of gluten-free cookies.  It sure is handy for mixing that heavy cookie dough!!  I'm looking forward to using it for potatoes and other things I've mixed by hand in the past.