Kenwood or Bosch mixer? Please advise!

gold2

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 3:36 pm

Hi I'm looking to buy a mixer and would like to know what is recommended.

A Kenwood is supposed to be really good quality and long lasting and better for cakes and cookies.

A Bosch is supposed to be better for challah.

I'm leaning towards buying a Bosch but only because I don't really know anyone who has a Kenwood who was able to verify whether it's good for challah. When people say that a Bosch is better for challah, if a Kenwood is well-made and good quality, in what way does the challah come out worse? I want a machine that is good for everything and would love to hear people's experiences with a Kenwood.

Thank you in advance!

amother

Peach

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 3:43 pm

Bosh contains more so you can make a bigger batch of challa dough. I think the biggest difference is the size of the bowl.
My mil had a kenwood for many years and was just as happy as I am with my bosch.
For the same reason I find that I can't make just one cake at a time I will make 2 or 3 and freeze.
Actually if I'm only making one cake I find it's too heavy to take out ,I would rather use a hand mixer.
(Think: how often do you make challa? Do you like a small batch fresh every week? Or a lot in the freezer? What size is your family?)

amother

Peach

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 3:58 pm

I have it for over 15 years but paid $140 last year to replace the motor.
I also replaced the stick in the middle for $15 a couple of months ago and replaced the plastic cover a few years ago.
Eta: We're a big family and I use it a lot! I will usually make 2 batches of 5 lbs each, one after the other!

just me!!

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 4:54 pm

I had the exact same problem before buying my mixer,
They say that Bosch has a stronger motor and wont break down with the heaviness of a challah dough, which the kenwood could do.
However, I've spoken to ppl that make great challah with their kenwoods. Most people however do prefer bosch for challa.
Also, I was once told by a store owner something that the bosch is made in europe somewhere and the kenwood is made in china...
(having said all that, kenwood definitely makes fluffier cakes.....)
Hope I helped somewhat....

amother

Periwinkle

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 6:46 pm

The Bosch is definitely best for challah.

I have a KitchenAid, but the motor isn't strong enough to make 5 pounds. I bought a second bowl and now I just make 2 batches of 2.5 pounds each at the same time. (It's easier than having to do it one after the other.) It comes out good that way.

ayintova

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 7:42 pm

I briefly had a Kenwood. I burned out the motor on its first run making 5 pounds of challah. The manual said it could mix that much dough but I managed to break it. Fortunately, I was able to return it! I continue to make my challah by hand.

amother

Gray

Wed, Jan 01 2020, 9:14 pm

I won’t buy a Bosch. It’s made in Germany and I don’t buy German products if I can help it. With the global economy and companies buying other companies it’s often impossible to know who the seller really is, but if I know that the product is made by a German company, it’s out of the running. Have we forgotten about the Holocaust already?

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 4:07 am

I have a kenwood for 20 years. amazing all around mixer for cakes and cookies etc.
I have the major (the bigger one), and it can fit a big dough but wont mix well. so for a big quantity of challah you need to mix in 2 batches (of 9 cups each). my challah is phenomenal if I do say so myself, but if your focus is on challah vs cakes I don't know if its the mixer for you.
I used to have a cake/challah business and I think I killed my mixer with that. its not meant for industrial use. It broke the piece that clicks it in place to stay down. I fixed it once but eventually I gave up and now I need to hold down while it mixes. doesnt bother me terribly. still an amazing mixer, but if your focus is on challah not sure if its the mixer for you.

curious to know what ppl say about bosch for cakes/cookies/creams

I reread your original post and to answer your question in short - the challah comes out great in the kenwood, just it cant handle a large load at one time or you will kill the motor.
cake batter in big quantities - no problem.

amother

Ivory

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 4:13 am

I have a Bosch. It's great for Challah, and cakes as well. It doesn't cream margarine well, though, so it's not amazing for things like cookies and buttercream, unless the margarine/butter is very soft.

amother

Puce

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 4:22 am

amother [ Gray ] wrote:

You’re right. I’m the type to feel the same way which is why I didn’t buy a Bosch before I got married. However, I did receive one as a gift and eventually started using it.
It happens to be that my 85 year old holocoust survivor grandmother just bought herself a Bosch! She always made her challah by hand but said that she doesn’t have the koach anymore. She was telling me how good the machine is and that the newer ones are made much better than the one I have from years ago!
I guess if something is here to help us, we do what works for us.

gold2

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 5:24 am

Thanks for your responses, really appreciate it. There is a larger size kenwood available kenwood kvl8300s uk[I]
which should be able to handle a larger amount.

I assume the person who said that it's not good for a large batch,( sorry can't find the quote option) was using the smaller size Kenwood?

I would love a mixer which is good for everything but especially for challah doughs. So complicated! I would love to get both but it's not really an option right now:)

One more question (for now) - You said it's not good for margarine, does that mean a Bosch won't do well with cake recipes which have marg? A cake recipe with oil only doesn't need a mixer anyway imo...

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 5:57 am

I was the one who said you need to divide into 2 batches. I have the *bigger* kenwood (I think the bowl is 7 liters. it used to be called the 'major'). the bowl can physically fit the larger dough, but the motor can't handle it. it can actually mix but will overtax the motor and the mixing will take much longer anyway so not worth it. I don't recommend to do it.

Last edited by yc on Thu, Jan 02 2020, 6:03 am; edited 1 time in total

nw11

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 8:14 am

I have the Bosch but grew up with the kenwood so have experience with both. When I got married about 8 years ago it was no longer possible to buy the metal bosch bowl without the piece in the middle. This means that my bowl has a much smaller capacity and for making challas or even big batches of cake which is annoying. (I can make 1.5 kg max, the old one can do at least 2.5kg) These bowls are also much harder to clean up. I bought the slightly weaker machine and I find it extremely weak. It doesn't whip up egg whites or make ice cream anything like the kenwood and when using the vegetable attachment it is quite slow. Apparently Bosch changed their motors just before I bought mine, and the older models are incomparable in quality. My mother's Kenwood is better at everything besides challa. I just recently heard that a kenwood should never be higher in power than number one when making challa or else it breaks. My next mixer will probably be a kenwood.

gold2

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 8:24 am

nw11 wrote:

Thank you nw11! I've seen a 1700 watt kenwood for sale and that is supposed to be really powerful, so am hoping that you can make a big batch of challah in there. downside to that is that it's not good for making small cakes apparently as it's too large:(

amother

Ivory

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 9:27 am

I wrote about the margarine issue with the Bosch. Any recipe that starts with creaming the margarine is a problem with the Bosch. The Kenwood has a better "layout" for that.
It's quite annoying. You have to help it along.

etky

Thu, Jan 02 2020, 9:47 am

I have the Kenwood Major with a 1200 w. motor and a 6.7 liter metal bowl.
I make about 3 lbs (1.35 kilo) of challah dough in it. I never tried doubling my recipe because I'm afraid to kill the motor. It would come out to a bit over what the manual states is its capacity (2.4 kilo of dough).
The machine make wonderful challah but it's not for those who want to make a huge batch at once.
The more powerful, newer 1700 w model has just a marginally larger capacity (2.56 kilo) for dough.
I love the Kenwood and it is really great with cake and cookie dough. I also find that it performs just as well when making small cakes and whipping small amounts of cream or egg whites.