01.Introduction
We review 18 benchtop mixers, priced from $139 to $999.
Our test results reveal which mixers:
- perform the best at whisking
- perform the best at kneading
- perform the best at mixing, and
- are the easiest to use
On this page:
If you regularly make breads, pizza doughs and other heavy batters then you’ll need something with more grunt than a handheld mixer offers. A benchtop mixer is fast and easy to use and although it’s more expensive to purchase it’ll be worth your while if you’re an avid baker and the long-term savings from baking from scratch can outweigh the initial cost.
Most mixers on test are big and can cope with larger quantities for freezing and time savings later on; most types of dough, including biscuit dough, freeze well.
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A good benchtop mixer can knead a perfect ball of pizza dough in less than five minutes, leaving your hands free to prepare the toppings. Although proving dough can take between 30 to 45 minutes, it’s at a fraction of the cost, salt and fat content of a ready-made pizza.
For more information on Benchtop appliances, see Kitchen.
In our last test we also looked at mixers with twin tools and although these types can generally whisk and mix well, we found they struggled when mixing and kneading heavier batters, so didn’t include any in this test. In this test we only looked at models with single tool attachments.
Brands and models tested
- Breville BEM400
- Breville BEM200C
- # Breville the Scraper Mixer Pro BEM800
- # Breville The Scraper Mixer BEM410R
- Eurolab Multi-Function Stand Mixer YD-388
- # Kenwood Chef Classic KM330
- Kenwood KMX51 - kMix Stand Mixer
- Kenwood KM270 Patissier Mixer
- Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine KM315A950
- Kenwood Chef Kitchen Machine KM300
- # Kenwood Titanium major KM020
- KitchenAid 5KSM150PS
- # KitchenAid Platinum Collection Stand Mixer KSM156ACAO
- Sunbeam MX8900
- Sunbeam MX7700
- Sunbeam MX001
- Sunbeam MX5950
- # Sunbeam Café Series Mixmaster MX9200
# Newly tested models.
How we test
Performance Our home economist, Fiona Mair, conducts the following tests on each mixer which are weighted equally to calculate the performance score.
- Whisking Fiona uses the whisk attachment to aerate egg whites to form stiff peaks.
- Mixing Using the K-beater, heavy duty beater or scraper beater, she assesses how well it combines dry and wet ingredients evenly to produce a smooth, consistent mixture.
- Kneading Fiona makes pizza dough with the dough hook attachment to assess the mixer’s ability to knead wet and dry ingredients evenly into a soft ball of dough. This also tests the mixer’s power and ability to cope with a heavy load. All mixers jolt to varying degrees during this test, indicating just how strenuous it can be to make dough.
Ease of use She assesses how easy it is to use the controls and read the labelling, lift and lower the head, remove and replace the bowl and mixing tools, add ingredients while the machine is operating, and clean parts and the main unit.
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