Kitchen

KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, KSM150PS

The KitchenAid Artisan is the stand mixer most bakers picture, and it still earns its place on the counter. It's not the brawniest mixer for heavy bread, but for everyday baking it's hard to beat.

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Key features

• The tilt-head design makes adding ingredients and swapping beaters easy
• A 5-quart bowl comfortably handles everyday batches of cookies, cakes and frosting
• The included beater, dough hook and whip cover most home baking straight out of the box
• The attachment hub lets it grow into pasta making or grinding later on
• Mixers like this have a reputation for lasting for many years when they're not overloaded

Best for

Home bakers who make cookies, cakes and the occasional loaf and want a reliable, versatile mixer.

Things to consider

• It's not ideal for frequent stiff bread dough or double and triple batches; a bowl-lift model handles that better
• It's heavy, so it needs a permanent spot on the counter
• Its lowest speed is fairly quick, so it can kick up flour if you're not careful

Verdict

Recommended for most home bakers. If you bake big batches of bread every week, step up to a bowl-lift model instead.