Carmine: The New Kitchenaid and How It Died

I bought a brand new Kitchenaid mixer on Friday. I named it Carmine. Many people are surprised that I do not already have one. I haven't bought one because I haven't really settled in anywhere. Denver was supposed to be temporary and in the last five years, I lived in four different places. I wasn't quite certain what neighborhood was right for me. I wanted to wait until I was a little more settled. I've waited for a lot of different things in my life and at some point, I have to go ahead and do it even if all prerequisites are not fulfilled. I was baking four batches of cinnamon rolls and three batches of coconut cupcakes.

I contemplated a few different models.

1. Professional 500 HD - 5 quart; 475 watts everyday low price of $279.99 at Costco. During Black Friday weekend, coupons were handed out for an additional $50 off. We were at Costco a few days before Black Friday weekend but we were both flying out of town that weekend.

2. Professional 500 - 5 quart; 325 watts on sale at Williams-Sonoma for $$229.99 reduced from $299.99

3. Artisan - 5 quart; 325 watts at most stores for $299.99. Fun colors but with a tilt head instead of a bowl lift.

4. Professonal 600 - 6 quart; 575 watts for $399.99 at most stores. Sometimes more, sometimes a little less. Metal insides versus plastic.

What should I get? Should I wait until I had a coupon for the Costco model? Should I get the reasonably priced Williams-Sonoma one? Do I want mixer head tilt or bowl lift design?

I wanted more power (although I read later on that the watts do not make much of a difference.) I wanted the ability to do more. I tend to double, triple or quadruple many recipes. (Just like the quadrupled cinnamon buns and the triple coconut cupcakes I am making for the shower.) It was obvious what I was leaning towards. I wanted the Professional 600. And with a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon, I was able to get 20% off

My reasoning:
Costco one - $299-$50= $229 but have to wait until November/December
Williams-Sonoma one - $229 with a $30 Williams-Sonoma gift card = $189. But it was a little smaller and a lot less power. If I wait for the Costco one, I can get 175 more watts.
Artisan one - Can get at Bed Bath and Beyond with 20% coupon for $299-$60=$239-BBB $30 gift card =$210.
Professional 600 - $399-$80=$320-$40 BBB gift card =$280.

I knew I wasn't going to wait until the end of the year to buy the Costco one. If Costco had the coupon, I would have probably purchased the Costco one. One less quart and 100 less watts. The bowl is skinnier and taller than the Professional 600, which has a squat bowl. Williams-Sonoma was tempting but I couldn't justify the same price for one with 175 less watts than the Costco one. The Artisan was tempting since they have so many awesome colors but the color I have always wanted was red and the other models were all available in red. The only other color aside from red that I would want is probably copper metallic. There is just something about copper kitchen stuff that is so appealing to me. Maybe because I always see copper pots and bowls in fancy kitchens. I was taught to beat egg whites in a copper bowl to stabilize the whites. (An alternative would be a glass or metal bowl with a pinch of cream of tartar. But never a plastic bowl.) I couldn't justify the price increase for it. The Artisan was $100 more expensive and the the Pro was anywhere from $50 to $100 more and they were not discounted. I could get most of the other one discounted. I chose the red Pro 600.

The test:
It started having trouble with it on Friday night as I was making the frosting for the cupcakes and the cinnamon rolls. It just kept stopping. I had better luck with the buttermilk white bread (the very first thing made in Carmine). The ultimate test was a double recipe of cinnamon rolls on Saturday morning. 9 cups of bread flour and 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. I tried the Kitchenaid dough technique where you mix everything with the dough hook and continue kneading with the dough hook. It doesn't mix well with the dough hook. I had to scrape it out and mix it by hand. Then I tried kneading. About two minutes into kneading, it shuts itselt off. I had to unplug it for a few minutes and then try again. It would knead for less than a minute and shut itself off. I divided the dough in half, so 4.5 cups of flour instead of the 9. The machine is rated for 14 cups of all-purpose flour and 9 cups of wheat but no rating for bread flour. I figured it was somewhere in between. I tried just half the dough and it still could not handle it. After a few cycles of shutting down, unplugging, and trying again, it finally stopped. I tried again an hour later and it worked.

I called customer service and the very nice guy is sending me a new machine. I asked him if I was doing anything wrong. He said no, I was following directions.

I went to tea at the Brown Palace, came back home and started the cupcakes and it was fine. I need to adjust the height of the paddle. It doesn't reach down into the bottom of the bowl.

So when the next mixer arrives in about a week or two, I think I will be testing it again with a double batch of cinnamon rolls. I bought a workhorse and expect one. I don't want to pamper the thing. It is a huge hunk of heavy metal and looks very sturdy.