Are Sunbeam Mixmasters?

[WayneT]

Old Coot,
My main reason for the machine kneading is because of some health probs. A couple of minutes and my arms and shoulders are shot.
You mention the KA being noisy, have you ever heard a Kenwood Chef. Forget about anybody watching TV while it is on. Maybe their new electronic versions are good. My son should be going to the States next year on his way back from Cambodia, so If I am still in the market I will get him to look out for me.
I might just check out a new motor for my Braun, apart from being a pain cleaning it is a good strong machine. Might be just a bearing or something as it still works but every now and then it makes deep grinding noises. I would have bought a KA originally but I thought they were only for commercial use until I saw them in a store 6 months ago. I didn't even know what the brand name was until then.
All our TV chefs use them. But hey, that Sunbeam they're selling as a dough kneader seems to be a real lemon. Sunbeam tells me the info in the book regarding hand kneading is correct and they are sorry that their machine does not suit my needs. I let go with all four barrels in an Email back to them and told them they were being deceptive in their packaging and advertising material. Do they think the consumers are a bunch of idiots in as much as buying a machine that is supposed to knead dough and then find out you have to knead 15 mins by hand. Anyway I will tell as many people as possible through DiscussCooking and hope the word spreads.

[oldcoot]

Wayne, you are the second person who has recently mentioned a physical problem with hand kneading. I will suggest to you, too, that dough can be just as effectively kneaded by squeezing or other manipulation, as all one is doing is stretching the glutn structures. I have had perfectly good results from kneading while sitting in my den watching TV. Squeeze, twist, stretch - any sort of movement that deforms the dough works quite well. probably a good idea to have an apron or other lap protection, I suppose. Especially is the dough is likely to become sticky and require a bit more flour. Or if you're a klutz like me who drops things. :)

[WayneT]

oldcoot, You are right, as if you notice in one of my previous postings I had to use the Food Processor which attaches to my mixer, to knead my last batch as I had broken my mixing bowl. I processed only for a minute or so all up as it started to over heat (only because the motor is carking it,). I had no alternative but to go with the flow. I chucked the 1 minute dough into my rising bowl and all went well. Continued on as usual and I can't tell the difference from the dough hook method. The cutting action of a Processor seems to do the trick. I remember when I had an old Breville Super Whiz the dough instructions were to process until a ball is formed, that is it. The Whiz made good dough but it wasn't as powerful as the 800watt Braun I use for handling large batches.

[kyles]

I was looking at kitchenaids yesterday £300, so that is over $600 Australian dollars, and around $500 US. Ouch! I am stuck with handkneading for the time being. I am in search of a secondhand Kenwood. I know they are noisy (I remember mum using hers during Saturday afternoon movies, not only did the noise drown in it out, but the picture got disrupted by the darned thing)

For now I am stuck with handkneading.

[oldcoot]

WOW - those prices are out of sight.

Ours is a KA "Artisan" 5 quart unit - it will easily handles a 7 cup of flour dough. Todays price here is $249.99 accirdubg ti tge ads,

I glanced at e-Bay just to check, and found it available for as little as 1s $127 US.

Unless customs is involved, buying one on e-Bay and having it shipped UPS or FedEx should save big bucks!

And it has a big stainless steel bowl, Wayne - unbreakable :D

[WayneT]

Old coot wrote:

And it has a big stainless steel bowl, Wayne - unbreakable Very Happy

he! he! You wouldn't believe it but my Braun mixer bowl has a lid similar to the processor with a little lug that trips the safety switch as you lock the lid on. After mixing I always wash my gear straight away and put it on the draining rack. My kitchen is extremely small and I have a chest freezer that I use for a bench top and as I walk between it and the kitchen sink I have several times bumped the rack and the lid has fallen down and broken the lug off the lid. How many times have I said to myself that I must dry the lid and put it away immediately. I am starting to think that is aerodynamically designed to fall in such a way as to to snap that lug off! $14 AUD each replacement.

[jasonr]

Wayne, I have never seen a recipe call for more than 15 minutes kneading total (hand or machine) and most recipes call for half that amount. (5-7 minutes is standard in most bread recipes, both from professional and amateur cookbooks) Given this, it makes no sense that this Sunbeam would require 15 minutes on top of whatever time it takes to knead in the first place, unless the machine is somehow magically unkneading the dough. Assuming the machine works like a standard stand mixer (with the dough hook), I would simply ignore the instructions and do what you normally do. A little hand kneading at the end is useful, but not for more than a minute, if even that.

"I was looking at kitchenaids yesterday £300, so that is over $600 Australian dollars, and around $500 US. Ouch! I am stuck with handkneading for the time being. I am in search of a secondhand Kenwood. I know they are noisy (I remember mum using hers during Saturday afternoon movies, not only did the noise drown in it out, but the picture got disrupted by the darned thing)"

I purchased a 300W 4 quart Kitchenaid stand mixer for $350.00 CA (about $460.00 U.S.) from Williams Sonoma, and it is by far the best investment I have made for my kitchen. It is easily the most useful tool in my kitchen for everything from creaming large chunks of butter to whipping meringue, to kneading dough. It may seem like a steep price, but it is so indispensable, that you will wonder how you lived without it. You should really consider biting the bullet and just buying it; you won't be sorry. I can't comment on the cheaper models, but honestly, for something as fundamental as a stand mixer, I would not be counting pennies and looking for a bargain. Everyone I have ever spoken with agrees that Kitchenaids are supreme.

[WayneT]

Jasonr, I haven't actually bought the Sunbeam, I was doing a prepurchase check on it when I found out this info. The prob with Kitchenaid is not the exchange rate but someone is making a huge ripoff in the profit department in Australia. As I have stated the US$400 (approx) machine is AUD$1500 here. Yeah Kenwood might be the way to go.

[jasonr]

$1500 AU, versus $600 AU? That doesn't make any sense. Are you sure the model you saw was not the chrome plated version? Kitchenaid has a model that is identical to the entry-level model (the one I got, for $350.00 CA) that is chrome plated, and retails for about $750.00 CA. (about $1000.00 US) Its specs are identical except for the finish, so it would be easy to get them confused.

[WayneT]

jasonr,
Even if I did read it wrong, but I am sure I checked pretty well, could you imagine another $750 for a chrome finish? I might as well buy two units and keep one as a backup.