Cuisinart Precision Master 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer, Black

Fantastic replacement for my former brand. Used it again last night! It powered through the 5.5 cups of flour to perfectly kneed the bread dough with minimal signs of trouble. The motor got a little warm, with the 9-minute kneeling time, but did just fine. I love this mixer, and am eager to start buying attachments ASAP! Thrilled with this wise purchase!

I've been expanding my baking horizons from chocolate chip cookies and muffins to pastry, pizza dough and breads. Bread recipes seemed to assume one had a stand mixer and a dough hook. I made do with a hand mixer with a couple of spiral attachments billed as dough hooks. It worked well enough but took extra effort and sometimes the bread came out too crumbly. So I bought the Cuisinart Stand Mixer. So far I've used it for muffins, bread, pizza dough and chocolate chip cookies. It has made baking easier and more efficient because I can multi-task. My cookies did not come out as well using the stand mixer instead of a blender - a short-cut that works surprisingly well - the dough was drier and less pliable. So, I'll research recipes that specify a stand mixer. My whole wheat multi-grain loaf came out perfectly. It is so much tastier than store bought bread, so I'll aim to always make my own bread. I don't know if that'll amortize the purchase price but I'll still be happy with my Cuisinart Stand Mixer and the goodies it helps me bake. The bowl is capacious and easy to clean by hand. The mixer is powerful so it handles dough with ease. It is solidly built and stable. If you are researching stand mixers, put this at the top of your list.