KitchenAid 6-Qt. Professional Bowl-Lift Review

Rarely does a single product shine in every one of our evaluations, but the KitchenAid Professional handily manages this feat. This machine has a large 6-quart bowl that makes double and even triple batches recipes possible — a real boon for production cooking. However, this large size requires the user to help incorporate ingredients that occasionally get stuck on the bottom or pushed to the sides of the bowl. This minor issue is not the result of a lack of power. Our tests revealed a sturdy, robust machine that easily mixed and kneaded the stiffest of doughs while still having the ability to whip cream and mix smooth buttercream frosting neatly. The only caveat to the praise we shower on this marvelous kitchen appliance is that it is likely more machine than most kitchens require.

Ease of Use

The Professional has several features that make it pretty darn easy to have an enjoyable and productive experience. First off, the bowl-lift design and the bowl handle make for a somewhat easy bowl placement and removal — though one-handed operation requires more effort than some tilt-head models.

The bowl-lift design also reduces spillage when adding while mixing as the bowl-to-head gap can be quickly expanded with the turn of a lever. Additionally, the base of this machine is also super stable, so no worries about having to chase the mixer around the countertop.

Further increasing user-friendliness, the Professional employs a slow start-up rotation function that starts the mixing at a lower speed before ramping it up. Additionally, the model has a splash guard. Both of these features are appreciated, given that the 575-watt, 10-speed motor and planetary rotation are capable of flinging dough into low-earth orbit. Aside from keeping what you're working on where you want it, these features combine with the smooth finish of the machine to make clean-up as easy as 1-2-3.

The bowl/mixer interface is the only thing that stands in the way of the Professional delivering a perfect performance. The bowl-lift crank is limited to two settings, and the all-the-way-up setting leaves a bit of a gap between the bowl and the mixing attachment. This requires the user to scrape the bowl occasionally for unincorporated ingredients to get them into the mix.

Mixing

We mixed cookie dough, frosting, and pizza dough. Each of these recipes places unique demands on the motor, mixing attachment, and mixing action of the machine.

The KitchenAid Professional excels at mixing. The buttercream frosting came together quickly in a smooth, even texture, but it did require a little side-of-the-bowl scraping from the user.

Integrating wet and dry ingredients to form pizza dough was straightforward, producing a uniform, slightly sticky ball at the end of the dough hook. These satisfactory results are the product of KitchenAid's burly motor, planetary mixing action, and highly effective attachments.

Whipping

Many home bakers will remember the first time they made a recipe that called for whipping egg whites or cream to stiff peaks. One tester recalls being a bit overwhelmed with this step, and without Youtube at the time, having to call his grandmother for guidance. While there is no substitute for the experience that older bakers can offer, having a tool like a stand mixer at your disposal is a real benefit. Since a good hand-whipping technique is very mechanical and involves a whisk, a stand mixer is a great substitute. However, a stand mixer can easily overdo the process.

We whipped egg whites until stiff peaks formed and then used them in the sponge of a lemon chiffon layer cake. The height of the sponge is a good indicator of how well the egg whites were whipped. The Professional is about average for the class in this evaluation. However, there was very little sagging in the middle of the sponge, which suggests a quality whip.

The Professional crushes in our volume evaluation. It increased the volume of the cream from 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cups. This volume increase is at the top of the class, while the time it took to get there is about average at 3 mins 12 secs.

Kneading

Kneading dough by hand is a laborious task that requires a sufficiently powerful motor and a proper dough hook attachment. The KitchenAid Professional has both. We can confidently say this because we made pizza dough in the machine, and it performed wonderfully. After baking off the dough, the pizza crust was light and airy crumb with a crispy exterior. The crust came out so well because it was worked correctly by the dough hook, and as a result, it rose adequately in the oven.

Kneading dough can be hard work, both for humans and machines. However, the 575-watt motor of the Professional lives up to its name. It kneads dough like a pro! As with whipping, however, a machine with this much power can easily overdo it if not watched carefully.

Should You Buy the KitchenAid 6-Qt. Professional Bowl-Lift?

The Professional is a superb machine. It leads in nearly every metric and boasts a larger bowl and a more convenient interface than many peers. However, the machine's price reflects the performance, and it's probably more machine than most home cooks and bakers need. We suggest going with this option if you are thinking of production and you don't mind the cost.

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