We love homemade bread and have heard many times that Bosch makes the best mixer for baking.  We purchased it at a local kitchen store that had it on sale for mother’s day.  It still came at a hefty price but based on its reputation, we wanted to give it a try.

The packaging was very nice.  The box was protective and the interior neatly packed.  It comes with a manual that gives detailed instructions on washing and using the mixer with its various attachments.  The instruction manual was relatively easy to read a follow.  There was no assembly required but I washed it before use.

I attached the mixer bowl to the base and then put on the dough hook.  I added my ingredients and was then ready to begin mixing.  I like that Bosch provided a plastic ring for the top of the bowl for extra protection.  It is a guard for the dough hook as it rotates quite fast through the bowl and could hurt any fingers that might slip in there.  The base has a several speeds, but I found the first speed to be fast enough for most of my cooking.  The only time I have used the higher speeds was when I made whipped frosting.  The bowl capacity was a generous size, and the way it sits on the base makes it easy to add ingredients while the dough  hook is mixing.

The mixer did a great job handling the bread dough.  The dough hook was able to mix and knead the dough well.  The base was equipped with a good motor; and I could tell this because the machine was very stable even at the end of the kneading when the dough is gathered together in one ball.  I also liked how the dough hook fit onto the center post.  First, the dough hook is made of a strong, sturdy metal.  Second, the center post has fittings of metal.  So, there is metal connected to metal when the dough hook is operating. I think that is makes the mixer strong and long-lasting; whereas plastic components would undoubtedly break under these conditions.

Cleaning the unit was quite simple.  In reading the manual, they suggest not submerging the bowl under water because it could rust the components.  So, we just add a little soap and water inside the bowl and wash it independently.  The bowl is made of plastic, although you can purchase an upgraded stainless steel one.  The plastic was easy to clean as the food came right off of it.  It took a little scrubbing but no harsh brushes.  The metal hook was also easy to clean as the food does not stick to it either.

This is a very good mixer.  I would have like to upgrade to the stainless steel mixing bowl, but the plastic works well.  It has stayed very nice looking through many uses and it has performed the same since the first day it was used.  I recommend this mixer even with a higher cost as the strong motor and its ease of use make this very worth-while.