It hasn't really been the same since Paul took it apart & replaced the worm gear. Didn't sound the same and didn't have the same "oomph" it used to have. I was able to make 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 white bread with the mixer only complaining a little, but when I tried a 3/4 whole wheat bread, it vocalized it's protest quite loudly and eventually just bit the dust.
Paul took it apart again and the worm gear that was just replaced was already worn. Luckily I bought two of them when I placed the order so we had the part on hand for immediate re-assembly, but it makes me wonder why the gear lasted fifteen years, but the replacement lasted only hours. Is something else causing the gear to wear or is it just crappy replacement parts (I did use "authentic" KitchenAid parts)?
After my personal mechanic put the mixer back together, I went back to using it. But this time I made sure I made my cookie doughs first, then went on to 1/2 whole wheat breads. And the mixer is starting to protest already. After only four bread doughs. I do not want to be without a mixer for our annual Cookie Baking Bonanza next month, so I figured I'd just have to - oh the horror - knead dough by hand. So now I have a mixer that isn't quite "alive", but not yet dead.
I did, however, pick up a used all-in-one bread makers for $10 and if I venture out to town again I'm going to hit the resale shops to see if there are anymore I can pick up. I'm not sure if they will be able to handle a 100% whole wheat bread. But even if it can take some of the load off my mixer, I'll use them for my bread baking until I decide what the fate of my existing KitchenAid and do a little more research (i.e. procrastinate) on a new mixer that can actually handle a loaf of my whole wheat bread.
Or, I can just make bread like people have been doing for the past, say, million years. I'll probably have less fresh bread around the house....but then I'll probably end up with less "dough" around my midsection. Which is
(For a last chance with the KA you may want to order both gears as a set. The older gear is too worn and immediately wears and wrecks the new gear.)
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, you may want to look at this mixer. The Ankarsrum Original Mixer also know as the “Magic Mill”.
It is made for bread making, kneading dough, up to 20 cups of flour. It seams pricey but I would have been hundreds of dollars ahead if I would have purchased one after my second KA died.
I discovered this mixer not by searching the web which I did extensively looking for a machine that could handle at least two loaves of 100% whole wheat but by visiting one of the blogs I read, Thibeault Table, listed in the blogs I follow.
Here’s a link to her post and at the very end of it is where she mentioned the machine.
http://www.thibeaultstable.com/2013/11/bake-day-monday.html
Here's one of many sellers and a good description of the machine.
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/magic_mill_dlx_mixer.aspx?gclid=CNqMrZzkhLsCFSRk7Aodp3EAJw
Mike
I think we all know what you need to put on your Christmas list for Santa to bring!
ReplyDeleteWith the amount of baking you do, you definitely need (or knead...) to get a good, heavy-duty one that will hold up to multiple whole wheat loaves. I would be whispering in Santa's ear right now, if I were you... :)
ReplyDeleteI would suggest stop whispering in Santa's ear and go straight for the naughty list.
ReplyDeleteThat mixer you want costs as much as an AR15 if I remember right. Not that it wouldn't be worth it but then again so would making the list.
Bread is my downfall here. I love it too. Hopefully you can get the tools you need soon.
ReplyDeleteWell, that really stinks! I know I wouldn't make much homemade bread if I had to knead it all by hand. I hope Santa brings you a new mixer this year! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone else... You are one gal who truly needs one of those big lift bowl mixers... Maybe not the ginormous ones in bakeries obviously, but maybe a new Kitchenaid? I would not only be whispering in Santa's ear, but trying to him a really jolly fellow ;)
ReplyDeleteI use a $5 thrift store bread maker. It does fine to mix the whole wheat recipes but the rise time doesn't suit me. I just use the "dough" setting and bake it in my oven. I really would like to have a Kitchenaid but my Santa isn't that generous- hope yours is!!
ReplyDelete