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KitchenAid 6-Qt. Professional Bowl-Lift Review

Simply the best all-around stand mixer on the market
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kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review
Credit: Amazon.com
Price:  $550 List
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Manufacturer:   KitchenAid
By Nick Miley and Michelle Powell  ⋅  Nov 15, 2022
86
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#1 of 12
  • Ease of Use - 30% 9.0
  • Mixing - 30% 9.0
  • Whipping - 25% 8.0
  • Kneading - 15% 8.0

Our Verdict

The KitchenAid Professional is an aptly named machine as it's a realistic alternative to an industrial quality machine. This bowl-lift mixer boasts 6 quarts of capacity, a powerful motor, and attachments. It can mix, whip, beat, knead, and if that's not enough, there are like a million excellent aftermarket attachments available for purchase. This machine showed no signs of faltering or stress throughout the rigorous testing regimen in our review of the best stand mixers. To put it bluntly, we struggled to find anything negative to say about this mixer except this: it's heavy. Besides that, it's a wonderful top-notch kitchen appliance that will elevate your culinary game.
REASONS TO BUY
Powerful motor
Simplistic design
Large capacity bowl
Planetary mixing
REASONS TO AVOID
Bulky
Heavy
Expensive
Editor's Note: We updated this gear review on November 15, 2022, to offer new suggestions for other stand mixers we would recommend.

Compare to Similar Products

 
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Pros Powerful motor, simplistic design, large capacity bowl, planetary mixingPowerful motor, simplistic design, sturdy platformCompact, ample power, great kneading action, very sturdyPowerful, affordable, easy to useAppealing price, easy to lift, powerful, excellent splash guard, easy to clean
Cons Bulky, heavy, expensiveTilt-head impedes bowl access, mediocre whipping actionLimited volume, pricey for capacity, struggles blending heavier mixesPoor whipping action, requires bowl scrapingStruggles to blend dense mixtures, noisier than other models, only four speeds
Bottom Line Simply the best all-around stand mixer on the marketA do-it-all mixer with a bowl capacity and price suited to most householdsThis miniature mixer is great for small-batch recipes though the compact design still comes at a premiumIncredibly powerful and easy to use for the priceHoly cannoli, this mixer is incredibly lightweight and powerful, but it tends to do the jig when the dough gets heavy
Rating Categories KitchenAid 6-Qt. Pr... KitchenAid Artisan KitchenAid Artisan... KitchenAid Classic... Bosch MUM4405 Compact
Ease of Use (30%)
9.0
9.0
7.0
8.0
7.0
Mixing (30%)
9.0
9.0
7.0
7.0
8.0
Whipping (25%)
8.0
6.0
8.0
6.0
5.0
Kneading (15%)
8.0
9.0
8.0
8.0
5.0
Specs KitchenAid 6-Qt. Pr... KitchenAid Artisan KitchenAid Artisan... KitchenAid Classic... Bosch MUM4405 Compact
Head Type Fixed Tilt Tilt Tilt Tilt
Bowl Capacity 5 quart 5.5 quart 3.5 quart 4.5 quart 4 quart
Standard Attachments Wire whip, dough hook, flat beater Whisk, dough hook, and flat mixing paddle Wire whip, flat beater, spiral dough hook Wire whip, dough hook, flat beater Wire whip, flat beater, spiral dough hook
Motor Power 325-watt 500-watt 250-watt 275-watt 400-watt
Mixing Action Planetary Planetary Planetary Planetary Planetary
Number of Speeds 10 6 10 10 4
Attachment Port? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Timer? No No No No No
Measured Dimensions (L x W x H) 13.25" x 8.75" x 13.5" 14.25" x 8.75" x 14" 14.5" x 10.75" x 14.25" 14.5" x 10.75" x 14.25" 11" x 13" x 10.5"
Measured Weight 22lbs. 13oz. 18lbs. 2oz. 16lbs. 22lbs. 13oz. 8lbs. 1oz.
Warranty 1-year Limited 3-year Limited 5-year 1-year 1-year
Color Options 46 8 10 2 1

Our Analysis and Test Results

Rarely does a single product shine in every one of our evaluations, but the KitchenAid Professional handily manages this feat. This machine has a large 6-quart bowl that makes double and even triple batches recipes possible — a real boon for production cooking. However, this large size requires the user to help incorporate ingredients that occasionally get stuck on the bottom or pushed to the sides of the bowl. This minor issue is not the result of a lack of power. Our tests revealed a sturdy, robust machine that easily mixed and kneaded the stiffest of doughs while still having the ability to whip cream and mix smooth buttercream frosting neatly. The only caveat to the praise we shower on this marvelous kitchen appliance is that it is likely more machine than most kitchens require.

Performance Comparison


kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - the kitchenaid professional can handily dispense with any task that...
The KitchenAid Professional can handily dispense with any task that you can throw at it, rendering high-quality results.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Ease of Use


Stand mixers are a tool that requires time and experimentation to develop the skill set that can take full advantage of the tasks the mixer can perform. While these are not push-button machines like a blender, the process of developing a productive relationship with a stand mixer shouldn't be overly burdensome. Accordingly, the ease of use category analyses the machines' burden on the user. This metric covers a lot of ground in looking at the user interface, sturdiness, user experience, and cleanliness. As such, we weight this metric to 30% of the product's total score.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - one-handed operation is a critical aspect of the ease of use...
One-handed operation is a critical aspect of the ease of use assessment. This bowl-lift machine can be wholly operated with a single hand, a nice touch for busy kitchens.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The Professional has several features that make it pretty darn easy to have an enjoyable and productive experience. First off, the bowl-lift design and the bowl handle make for a somewhat easy bowl placement and removal — though one-handed operation requires more effort than some tilt-head models. The bowl-lift design also reduces spillage when adding while mixing as the bowl-to-head gap can be quickly expanded with the turn of a lever. Additionally, the base of this machine is also super stable, so no worries about having to chase the mixer around the countertop.


Further increasing the ease of use, the Professional employs a slow start-up rotation function that, as the name implies, starts the mixing at a lower speed before ramping it up. Additionally, the model has a splash guard. Both of these features are well received given the 575-watt, 10-speed motor and planetary rotation capable of flinging dough into low-earth orbit. Aside from keeping what you're working on where you want it, these features combine with the smooth finish of the machine to make clean-up as easy as 1-2-3.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - kitchenaid mixers have conveniently located controls that are easy...
KitchenAid mixers have conveniently located controls that are easy to understand. The machine offers ten-speed settings easily adjusted with a lever on the side of the machine's head.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The bowl/mixer interface is the only thing that stands in the way of the Professional delivering a perfect performance is the bowl/mixer interface. The bowl-lift crank is limited to two settings, and the all-the-way-up setting leaves a bit of a gap between the bowl and the mixing attachment. This requires the user to scrape the bowl occasionally for unincorporated ingredients to get them into the mix.

Mixing


Mixing is the primary function that a stand mixer performs. Hence, the weight of this metric accounts for 30% of a product's overall score. Mixing at its most basic is simply the uniform incorporation of two or more ingredients. However, this task is more or less difficult, depending on the ingredients being mixed. To test various types of mixing in common recipes, we selected the mixing portions of a cookie, frosting, and pizza dough recipes.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - mixing heavy dough puts a lot of strain on a mixer's motor and...
Mixing heavy dough puts a lot of strain on a mixer's motor and components, but the impressive KitchenAid 6-Qt. Professional Bowl-Lift effortlessly mixed up cowboy cookie dough.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Each of these recipes places unique demands on the motor, mixing attachment, and mixing action of the machine. For example, the cookie recipe calls for chocolate chips, nuts, oats, and coconut flakes to be incorporated into a relatively soft dough that stiffens as these ingredients are added. This puts considerable strain on the mixer motor and the attachment. Accordingly, we pay close attention to the reaction of the mixer — does it slow, stall, or cycle erratically? Also, we analyze whether the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the dough and if they were pulverized in the process.


The KitchenAid Professional excels at mixing. The buttercream frosting came together quickly in a smooth, even texture, but it did require a little side-of-the-bowl scraping from the user. Additionally, integrating wet and dry ingredients to form pizza dough was straightforward, producing a uniform, slightly sticky ball at the end of the dough hook. These satisfactory results are the product of KitchenAid's burly motor, planetary mixing action, and highly effective attachments.

Whipping


Many home bakers will remember the first time they made a recipe that called for whipping egg whites or cream to stiff peaks. One tester recalls being a bit overwhelmed with this step, and without Youtube at the time, having to call his grandmother for guidance. While there is no substitute for the experience that older bakers can offer, having a tool like a stand mixer at your disposal is a real benefit. Since a good hand-whipping technique is very mechanical and involves a whisk, a stand mixer is a great substitute. However, a stand mixer can easily overdo the process where forearm fatigue can keep one from over-whipping.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - whip it, whip it good! devo would approve of this machine's...
Whip it, whip it good! Devo would approve of this machine's planetary mixing action and its quality whisk as they produce some of the better results of the class.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

While stand mixers are great for whipping, not all mixers are created equal in this regard. To develop a standardized analysis of how well mixers whip, we conducted two tests that evaluate the quality of aeration in both egg whites and cream. The egg whites are whipped until stiff peaks form and are used in the sponge of a lemon chiffon layer cake. When the sponge comes out of the oven, they are allowed to cool, and then their height is measured at the edge and the center. The air trapped in bubbles during the whipping process expands when heated in the oven and causes the batter to rise. Thus, the height of the sponge is a good indicator of how well the egg whites were whipped. The Professional is about average for the class in this evaluation. However, there was very little sagging in the middle of the sponge, which suggests a quality whip.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - the overall rise of the lemon chiffon sponge and the sag in the...
The overall rise of the lemon chiffon sponge and the sag in the center are a good measure of the aeration of whipped egg whites.
Credit: Michelle Powell

The other test we run to assess whipping is a volume test. We whip a half cup of cream to stiff peaks for this test, recording the increase in volume and the time it takes to get there. This test tells us how much air was introduced into the medium and gives us an idea of the amount of force going into the effort. Faster is not necessarily better when it comes to whipping. The Professional crushes in this evaluation. It increased the volume of the cream from 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cups. This volume increase is at the top of the class, while the time it took to get there is about average at 3 mins 12 secs.


Kneading


Kneading dough by hand is a laborious task that a machine can do if that machine has a sufficiently powerful motor and a proper dough hook attachment. The KitchenAid Professional has both. We can confidently say this because we made pizza dough in the machine, and it performed wonderfully. After baking off the dough, the pizza crust was light and airy crumb with a crispy exterior. The crust came out so well because it was worked correctly by the dough hook, and as a result, it rose adequately in the oven.


Without going into a science lesson on fermentation, kneading is important because it makes the dough more elastic. This elasticity is better able to capture the CO2 that is created by the yeast and sugar in the dough. Knowledgeable bakers will object to this simplification of a complex process, but this is basically what's happening. You want the dough to be springy and elastic, and kneading produces this outcome. If the dough lacks in this way, it will not be able to retain the CO2, and it will not rise. This failure produces dense bread that will likely result in feelings of frustration.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - the pro's unique spiral dough hook is effective and easy to extract.
The Pro's unique spiral dough hook is effective and easy to extract.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

As was said above, kneading dough can be hard work, both for humans and machines. However, the 575-watt motor of the Professional lives up to its name. It kneads dough like a pro! As with whipping, however, a machine with this much power can easily overdo it if not watched carefully.

kitchenaid 6-qt. professional bowl-lift stand mixer review - achieving stiff peaks with the kitchenaid professional.
Achieving stiff peaks with the KitchenAid Professional.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Should You Buy the KitchenAid 6-Qt. Professional Bowl-Lift?


The Professional is a superb machine. It leads our top-tier stand mixers in nearly every metric and boasts a larger bowl and a more convenient interface than many peers. However, the machine's price reflects the performance, and it's probably more machine than most home cooks and bakers need. We suggest going with this option if you are thinking of production and you don't mind the cost.

What Other Stand Mixers Should You Consider?


The KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer is an award-winning alternative that performs nearly as well in every metric but costs slightly less than the Professional. While we wouldn't describe the Artisan as a steal, one certainly gets what they are paying for with the purchase. But, when you consider that KitchenAid standing mixers are (theoretically) designed to last a lifetime, the initial payout seems less significant. For home bakers working with less space, consider the smaller KitchenAid Artisan Mini, a mini stand mixer built to the same high standards as its larger siblings.

Nick Miley and Michelle Powell
 

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