This is a great, powerful machine , and if you want to make big batches of bread, or big batches of cookie dough, even, it is the machine you need - it makes fantastic breads, better than a stand mixer (there's just some kind of nice motion to the kneading) and it can make a lot of it.

However, if you want to make a cake, some scones, or a batch of cookies, no. That is a first rate pain in the butt.

I really dislike the plastic mixing bowl, horrible design the column up the center is a waste of space and makes everything harder, especially scraping out and washing, and the need to literally put the beaters together every time you want to use them, and then washing all the little cracks and crevices... no. It also leaves butter/sugar at the bottom of the bowl no matter what you do.

Why not just make a nice whisk/paddle that would work in the main stainless bowl??? That would have been perfect.

Another big issue is that even the large bread bowl/attachments will not incorporate butter well (you see this in other reviews, etc). It doesn't do it even if it's softened - you have to completely melt butter for the mixer to combine it with the dough, and even with bread, melted butter is not always desirable.

I have seen videos that say you can do everything in then main bowl, but you can't, or not easily -- the roller is a challenge to get it to cream butter/sugar, and small batches are difficult to get going as the bowl is so large, and the roller needs volume to to be able to "grab" the mixture and work well.

I thought I could keep it and learn to love it, but I just can't -- it's too much money for something that can't do everything -- not without making simple tasks harder, anyway. I had to really think about it, though, because I didn't realize that **most sellers not only not do free returns, and they also will deduct some percentage for use** (though they said sometimes they don't or it's not much, so here's hoping). I've found this out the hard way. Buyer beware.

This is apparently because Amazon tells sellers that they cannot resell something that has been used, so they have to resell it in their own stores (or that's the explanation I was given, anyway). So I will be charged something for this "trial." However, that's better than having spent $800 for something I can't use easily to do normal baking.

If you have the "standard" Stand Mixer that gets bogged down if you have heavy dough, this will be the Best Replacement for you. I know, I know, but the price!

If you go to the Manufacturer's website, verify the Amazon seller listed is on the manufacturer's list for warranty purposes. You must do a little searching around to find this information. This means that if something happens to the unit, the Manufacturer will honor it's warranty.

Speaking of warranty, it is a Swedish Company that has a SEVEN YEAR factory warranty which only covers the machine; excluding the stainless-steel bowl and any other accessories.

It is a lower belt driven unit; most stand mixers are gear driven. It is very quiet and easy to use. It comes with several accessories: dough roller, dough knife, dough scraper, dough hook, dust cover lid, a 3.5 liter plastic mixing bowl, and a multi-wire balloon and single-wire cookie whip.

It has a mixing timer built in. Takes a little fiddling with to get it right, but none the less.

A tad bit heavy at about 25 pounds, but manageable.

The unit is versatile. We haven't stepped into this realm yet, but if you put the unit on it's side, there are attachments similar to blenders, meat grinders, mincers, juicers, pasta cutters, an ice cream maker, millers for grain and more.

Before you buy this, you've got to ask yourself two questions. Do I need a stand mixer? Do I need this obviously pricy one?

I needed a stand mixer because I wanted to make things that I didn't want to do by hand and which bogged down our hand held mixer. I picked this one because of the ratings.

So far I've made doughs, cookies, and whipped dips with this machine. It has done them all well. It is very stable and doesn't walk across the counter like some older stand mixers. It seems to have plenty of power. The speed control is easy to use and smoothly ramps from low to high. There's a timer on the on switch which is a useful convenience, though you never have to use it. Despite its power it doesn't seem to be quite as heavy as competing brands, and seems to be shorter. The mostly wide open top on the mixing bowls provides lots of room for adding ingredients as well as scraping the sides of the bowl when necessary without removing the hook, roller, or whisks (as appropriate).

So far it has no issues. The cost made me gasp a bit, but the quality seems to be there.

Update: After using this to bake bread 3-4 times I love it even more! This machine is leagues ahead of KitchenAid! It does all the work like scraping the bowl and gently kneading the dough. All I have to do is form the dough and let it rise. I am so glad I did my research instead of buying another KitchenAid.

If nothing else, it comes with a 7 year warranty, which gives me confidence in the brand. As best I can tell, it is made in Sweden. Another win. The open bowl, motor on the bottom design, another win. Being able to see my dough/batter and being able to add ingredients without the need to stop the machine is a gift from the heavens. Being able to move the roller so that it grabs the batter white the machine is on. I love it. What about the bowl turning and a scraper, not in my hand, scarping the bowl and doing a fantastic job.

I had a KitchenAid for years and almost bought another but there were a few things that I did not love about it so I decided to look around for something better. Literally, that's what I Googled. Bosch makes an open bowl design but it is a very lightweight mixer and I didn't want to deal with it dancing on the counter. Then, I stumbled upon this one and was intrigued. I debated spending the money but after watching some videos, I just had to go for it.

I am 52 years old and waiting for this mixer to arrive turned me into a 10 year old waiting for Christmas. Yep, I was that excited and more that it's here, I'm still excited!

This machine is worth every penny and improves on what we have accepted as the top of the line stand mixer in ALL the right ways. This mixer is a well thought out, well designed machine that does everything a stand mixer should do very quickly, quietly, and effectively.

Oh and it's powerful even on the lowest speed. 600 watts is plenty for the way this machine has been designed. I do not anticipate ever buying another stand mixer!

I received a Mockmill grain mill from my husband. After learning what is lost in store purchased flour I and store bought breads I told my husband I wanted to try making my own bread from my own home made flour. What I learned really quickly was using homemade flour is drastically harder than store bought flour due to the different preservatives used in shelf stable flour. Kneading is an important process to home made flour bread making and a lot more required for successful loaves. My kitchen aide mixer couldn't do it and was only good for combining ingredients not heavy kneading of bread dough. I was barely able to make enough dough for two loaves. I made my first batch of bread dough yesterday and I'm completely amazed at the difference in the two. My kitchen aide is in no way comparable to my new Ankararum. The ankarsrum in one batch made 4 loaves and kneaded it beautifully without me having to do any of the kneading and it did it seamlessly without straining at all. It's considered a kitchen assistant not just a mixer and it shows. The old old kitchen aides might have been better than the newer ones but today's kitchen aide isn't any real help at all. My first batch of bread I used the included cook book included with the kitchen assistant it was a great recipe and I made it with 100% home milled flour and it worked I had my assistant ; ) knead it longer than the recipe called for knowing it's needed with homemade flour. It was the best recipe and the best loaves of bread I've ever ever made. I wish I would have purchased it sooner and bypassed the kitchen aide all together. Get yourself an assistant it will help more than you ever thought possible.