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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Loving my Bosch Universal Plus Mixer
By Julie
Let me first say that I have had both the KitchenAid Professional HD Stand Mixer and the Cuisinart SM-55 and I felt they were both great. However, when I started cooking more 'real food' for my family, I started making bread a whole lot more. When searching different bread recipes, I found many used and loved the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer and were able to do many loaves at a time. I watched a video on youtube.com of a couple making 9 loaves of bread at one time! While watching the video I just like the design better. I like the fact that there is nothing above the bowl. I can add stuff in without stopping the mixer. The power is unbelievable. One knock I had on the KitchenAid especially was you could not walk away from the mixer while it was kneading. It 'walks' as it kneads. If you walked away, you might come back to a mixer on the floor. The Bosch Universal Plus Mixer has suction cups on the bottom which is a nice feature. I have made meringue using the whisk beaters and 4 egg whites were done in no time! Yesterday, I made cookies and the only complaint I had was that I needed to scrape the bowl. However, I forgot to use the scrapers. Overall, I would have to say I like this mixer better than the other two mixers I owned.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
As my wife says, "I asked my husband for a new mixer and he bought me a power tool!"
By B Beck
My wife's mixer had finally succumbed to a decade of family Christmas Cookie Bakes (CCB), which requires multiple double batches of cookies each winter. The beater shafts had become bent and had bent the receiver chuck on the mixer head. She said she wanted a new mixer for Christmas. She said she wanted one that could handle making double batches of cookie dough and was able to fit in our cramped, small kitchen.Below is the long story that discusses some other popular mixers owned by friends and family; which she tried (so that I could figure out her preferences) after she asked for a new one. If you just want a short list review here you go:PROS800 W - Largest Wattage of non-commercial grade mixers that I researched6.5 Qt - Larger bowl capacity than closest/most popular rival residential grade mixer(s)Headless - No head hanging over the bowl makes for easiest addition of ingredientssuction feet - 4 suction feet keep it firmly planted, limiting vibrations and keeping it from wandering on the counterWasher safe - Just about everything is dishwasher safe; we don't own a dishwasher, but we will one day...one day.Easy clean - Even sans dishwasher, the components are made of tough, smooth plastic making for easy hand washing.Accessories* - Currently we only have the additional Cookie Paddles and Bowl Scraper, but there are a variety of others.CONSPower Control - Fewer power settings than other residential mixers.Internet only - No local dealers means that if it needs repairs or parts it may be harder to fix.Uncommon - Unable to swap or share accessories with friends (most of whom have KitchenAid).Loud - Louder than basic to mid-level residential mixers, possibly louder than KitchenAid Pro.Accessories* - It has a variety of accessories but requires work around (extra purchases) for pasta press.*Available Accessories: Blender, Food Processor, Citrus Juicer, Meat Grinder, Berry Press, Grater (nuts, spices, hard cheese), Pastry Press, ^Noodle Attachment (for use with Meat Grinder) for making pasta noodles, Slicer/Shredder Attachment (specific to Slicer/Shredder: avail. dough hook attachment, avail. wisk attachment), a Family Grain Mill, and stainless steel bowls.The BOSCH UNIVERSAL PLUS MIXER fit my wife's requirements which are discussed below in the long story (at the end of the story is a summary):Once she decided she wanted a new mixer, I started asking her what her needs were. The basics were listed above, then she started experimenting with some of our friend's mixers, at my request, and telling me what she liked and didn't like.A friend has a KitchenAid Artisan and another couple has a KitchenAid Pro. She tried both of those mixers (which were highly recommended by their owners). She didn't like that the head was so big and that it required you to move the bowl out, or use an accessory scoop, to add ingredients.She tried her mother's Sunbeam mixer, that we had gotten her for Christmas a year or so before. Her mother participates in the CCB, so she makes double batches too. The Sunbeam has a drive belt that turns the plate on which the bowl is mounted, the head is stationary and it is offset to the side, so you can add the ingredients without moving the bowl or needing a scoop. However, my wife didn't like it but couldn't explain why, maybe the always driven bowl?So, I went on a hunt for a heavy-duty residential or entry-level commercial mixer, that could handle at least 5 or more quarts of dough (the capacity I'd determined would accommodate double cookie batches). It needed enough room at the side of the bowl for easy ingredient addition. It shouldn't be a KitchenAid, since they all have the same basic design: centered head, with orbital drive for the mixer paddles/whisks and tall bowls with a small diameter mouth.I researched higher capacity residential mixers online most of them had a similar design to the KitchenAid (centered head with orbital attachment drive) or they had a driven bowl like the Sunbeam. But, there was one other mixer that kept coming up, the Bosch Universal Plus, with it's funky headless design and doughnut shaped bowl.I called two friends, one who worked as a residential HVAC/Appliance Technician and the other who services restaurant equipment and appliances. Neither had heard of the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer and didn't have any experience with residential Bosch appliances. The restaurant repairman did say he had a high opinion of other Bosch appliances. Both recommended playing it safe and getting a KitchenAid, which they held in high regard.Contrarily, I pulled the trigger on the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer with Cookie Paddles & Bowl Scraper. One of the obvious selling points being specially made cookie dough paddles. No other mixer had specially made cookie dough paddles.It took 3 months after Christmas before my wife felt like mixing dough again (her family makes a LOT of cookies; this past winter we spent 12+ hours in one day just baking cookies, with a double oven, from the dough that was already mixed ahead of time. We still had dough left over after that.) When she was finally ready to try out her new mixer, she made...cookie dough.She was skeptical at first - it is a strange design, nothing like what you expect a mixer to look like. It's loud, louder than her old mixer. Possibly a little louder than the KitchenAid Pro. It does have a bigger capacity than the KitchenAid Pro, and an appropriately more powerful motor, so she felt confident that it would handle double batches. The splash ring lid with removable center makes it very easy to add ingredients without needing another accessory (she was starting to seem intrigued and maybe interested). The Bowl Scraper included in the bundle works great with either the included cookie paddles or the whisk attachment (I didn't expect the whisks to be part of the bundle; but the basic mixer includes the whisks and dough hook. Woot!) After mixing up a double batch of white chocolate macadamia nut, including folding in the chocolate morsels and the nuts, my wife was not just satisfied, but actually very pleased. Success!She still thinks it's a "power tool," as if it would be more at home in the garage with the compound mitre saw and the drill press; but she loves the "beast" because it meets every one of her cookie dough making desires and still seems like it can take on more.I love the variety of attachments, I'd like to get the blender (Mix cookies and margaritas at the same time?!) and the meat grinder (plus the noodle press attachment for it) to further my grilling experiments.If you got this far, thanks for reading the long story!In summary:The Bosch Universal Plus Mixer is compact (no head means less vertical space needed for storage or use on the countertop), able to make double batches of cookies (6.5 Qt capacity exceeds minimum 5 Qt requirement; 800 W motor is most powerful in it's class - most mixer motors correlate to the Qts: KitchenAid Pro 600W, 6 Qt bowl), does not require scoop or bowl removal to add ingredients, and the bowl does not spin or require spinning. It has performed as well as, in my opinion better than, rival mixers owned by friends and family. I will (and do) recommend this appliance to anyone looking for a mixer.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Best Mixer Ever Made
By Jeanne Murray
I had a Bosch Mixer many years ago. I made 4 loaves of bread every 5 or 6 days. It finally wore out and I got a KitchenAid Mixer. I was never quite satisfied with the KitchenAid.I now have a new Bosch mixer. I feel like I have come back home. Mixing and then baking is so easy. I am back to making my 4 large loaves of bread every few days. I made a cake yesterday.Wonderful!
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