In our Ankarsrum Mixer Review we have put this age-old mixer to the test, and the results are in. Are you looking for a reliable quality machine that can and will handle 10-12 pounds of bread dough, on a daily basis, without breaking a sweat? Look no further than the Verona / Magic Mill DLX Mixer / Electrolux Assistant / Ankarsrum Original.
Yes, it has gone by all of these names since it was first manufactured over 30 years ago, with the current incarnation being Ankarsrum.
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Table of Contents
The Best Stand Mixer For Bread Dough
In 1940, the Assistant was launched by Swedish white goods manufacturer Electrolux. Made in Sweden, the Ankarsrum Original is THE best home mixer for those who are serious about breads! This machine will even handle pizza dough without flinching and without stripping gears, as has been the case with some more well-known names in the recent past.
Once you get the hang of using it (not very hard at all if you understand that the liquid ingredients go into the bowl first followed by the dry) it will make dough making so simple and easy that you won’t think twice about it and will probably find yourself making a lot more bread.
Unlike most mixers with a motorized head above the bowl, if the dough starts climbing the hook (it will do this sometimes with a very full bowl near the end of the kneading process) you can just nudge the lump with a spatula and it’s drawn right back into the bowl without having to turn the machine off.
Product Features
Ankarsrum Original’s 7.5-quart stainless bowl capacity of 18 cups of flour allows it to produce around 10.75 pounds of pizza or bread dough at a time, which is enough to make 5-7 loaves of bread.
The Ankarsrum’s high quality, direct drive, high torque 600-watt motor allows it to knead an enormous amount of dough without straining, gear gnashing, or making you worry about seeing magic smoke rising from your motor. This mixer features adjustable speeds from 40-140 RPM, and an automatic sensor adjusts the motor’s torque to the workload.
The Ankarsrum Mixer Accessories
The machine ships with two attachments – a dough scraper that folds the dough, and a roller that provides a traditional kneading/massaging action. Similar to the KitchenAid and the Bosh, the Ankarsrum Original /Electrolux Assistant has a wide assortment of attachments available, turning this machine into veritable kitchen center.
This is a fairly pr machine. But if you really want quality, you have step up to the plate and pay for it. “Buy once, cry once.”
If you’re serious about your bread, this is THE machine to buy – skip the Made in China, skip the Assembled in the USA. Go for this European beast of a machine built and made with elegance, beauty and reliable features that are out of this world!
For those worried about matching decor, the Ankarsrum comes in many other colors to suite your personal taste and needs.
Our Ankarsrum Mixer Review
There is a learning curve with this mixer. It mixes quite differently to most of the other mixers out there. But once you have figured it out, you will be in love with this machine for its basic mixing and kneading capabilities. We ordered a second stainless steel bowl and roller and scraper so we could make 2 batches of 2 different things back-to-back. It’s astonishingly well-made and beautifully designed.
It’s very different and unique… but very effective. We absolutely love the built in scraper, and we love the fact that we can add ingredients without having to stop the mixer and lift the beating tool. Another cool plus is that the dough does not climb up the kneading tool and out of the top like most kitchen aids do.
The Ankarsrum is a solidly built machine and from what we have seen and experienced with it so far expect it to last a very long time. So in short, this was our favorite mixer, so far.
Not to mention, this thing is built like a tank, extremely heavy-duty in all the right places. The bowl is very heavy, all the implements (with the exception of the plastic whisk bowl) are extremely robust. The plastic whisk bowl comes with a couple of additional attachments for doing lighter jobs that don’t require them to be so heavy-duty. Every last part of this mixer is EXTREMELY well-designed.
Gear driven. Excellent, excellent product. We’ve had ours over 6 months now, no issues, and we don’t expect there to be any issues. We have used the shredder attachments and the grinder attachments, those are wonderfully easy to use, cleaning up is so quick in the sink.
We wouldn’t use the dishwasher they wipe clean and it extends the life of the product. The cord unplugs from machine making storage super easy. This machine not only looks like it will last forever, but it works like it will.
Helpful Tips
You can mix most anything using the roller against the side of the bowl.
When mixing bread dough, the ingredients will mix together very quickly in under 15 seconds at which time you must adjust the roller 1″ from the side of the bowl. When the roller is adjusted away from the bowl like this you are in “kneading” mode. If you fail to do this, the bread dough will climb out of the bowl. Once you do this, it is not a problem. This mixtures like pie fillings can be done in “mix” mode with the roller against the side of the bowl.
Whenever you’re mixing anything, always make sure to start at a low speed and then slowly increase as you go. There are some great tips given in the manual regarding the correct speed to use for different ingredients. The pouring plastic shield can also be washed in clean warm soapy water or on top rack of your dishwasher.
The dough hook, beater and whip wire are all hand wash only, do not put them in the dishwasher or they will get ruined. Wipe down the shaft and entire mixer with a clean damp cloth and leave to dry.
Cleaning
Before you use the mixer, wash the bowl at least 3 times to remove any dark residue. As we know that any kitchen appliance you purchase will for sure have to be given a quick thorough wash before use, that’s normal. Also wash all the attachments like the hook, beater and wire whip.
Before mixing, we always check to make sure there is no residue left by wiping with a paper towel. This way, your whipped cream, egg whites or butter won’t have any grey streaks in them.
Best way we found to handle any black residue is put salt in it and cut a lemon in half. Squeeze enough juice to make kind of a paste and use the half lemon to scrub the bowl with the juice/salt mix. You’ll see the black coming off. Do a good job adding salt as needed. Then just wash with some dish soap and you’re all good.
Pros
- The stainless steel bowl lifts off the mixer very easily.
- Quieter to work with and has a larger opening to add ingredients into.
- Very powerful motor.
- Very easy to clean.
- Easy to assemble and disassemble the parts.
- The cage beater beats faster than most other mixers.
- The motor moves the bowl and not the beater.
- The motor is at the bottom at the machine.
- Great fresh orange juice maker.
- Has two bowls (and a bowl lid!)
- The timer is great too because you can set the timer to the amount of time it would take to mix it
Cons
- That beautiful metal bowl is only for the bread dough.
- The polymer plastic bowl has a greasy residue to it, making it hard to whip anything as the residue gets left on the end product.
- Works better with small batches.
- Instructions are long with too many languages and the attachments are confusing.
- Not good for beating egg whites and whipping cream.
- Attachments not dishwasher friendly.
Conclusion
And that’s it for our Ankarsrum mixer review. Before buying this mixer, we suggest watching the YouTube videos about how to use. There are some mixed reviews about the mixer being complicated and hard to use, most cases are due to the fact that the videos are not being carefully watched before using.
The Ankarsrum does require studying on how to use it. It’s very different… not like the other many mixers most people are used to using. It’s not difficult to learn though if you just take a few minutes to watch the videos and read the manual. The Europeans have been using this technique for many years so it’s very possible to figure this bad boy out and enjoy this beautiful machine.