I would describe myself as frugal. Some in my life would call me downright cheap. I hate to spend money on “stuff” and am sort of anti-technology, but only in weird ways. For example, I love love love this MacBook, but had to be dragged kicking and screaming from my crummy old Dell. Now, I would never go back. I also love my Cuisinart, which was a gift from my mom over ten years ago, and I now consider it an indispensable tool. I expect to put it to daily use soon enough when Joseph’s ready for baby food.Today, I am grappling with my desire for a high-powered stand mixer versus my disgust at the $350 price tag. How many loaves of bread and pizzas do you have to make before you start to break even? I spent the day researching on the Cook’s Illustrated web site (the Cuisinart 5.5 quart barely beat the KitchenAid Professional 600), reading customer reviews on Amazon and fondling them at Williams-Sonoma.
End of round one: frugality has won out over my desire for a shiny new kitchen toy. The result? I just spent an hour making homemade pizza dough by hand and am pooped from all of the kneading! And covered in flour. Stay tuned for round two, when I attempt to make homemade artisan bread by hand. If you have a Cuisinart or KitchenAid stand mixer that you love or hate, let me know! Oh, and if the pizza is a disaster, there may be no round two.
I did some of that kneading too! I’m not actually that opposed to kneading, or being covered with flour for that matter. But I am a fan of gear of all kinds, and I’ve been pulling for a stand mixer for at least a year now. Bring on round two!
ReplyDeleteWe make homemade pizza every Friday evening, starting the dough in the bread machine. Still get lots of hands-on action: Pete is perfecting his toss. And we sprinkle the pizza stone with semolina flour, rather than cornmeal.
ReplyDeleteAs for mixers, I'm still infatuated with my decade-old Kitchen Aid. But I am thinking of adding a little "spice" to the relationship with a newfangled beater blade: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/beater-blade-for-kitchenaid-5-quart-lift-mixer
awesome. i'm reminded of Sean Law's luddite bread machine essay from many years ago. hey, doesn't your Cuisinart have a dough blade?
ReplyDeleteI've had a Kitchen Aid for about 8 years now, ever since I started competing at BBQ. I have a grinder and stuffer attachment that I use to make and stuff sausage at home. I look at the Kitchen Aid as a tool that allows me to multi-task. While it's kneading dough, mixing sausage meat or mixing whatever else, I can be working on something else. If you want, try quantifying your time with a "dollars per hour" labor rate, something like $20 per hour. If a mixer can save you an hour a week or two, you've got a dollar amount to help you determine how long it'll take to recoup your investment. We love ours. And that beater blade from King Arthur looks like a great thing, I'll have to get one!
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