The Halo Professional is way quieter, and the motor doesn’t overheat; I don’t get the sense that the motor is straining to knead the dough. There’s additionally—sorry, I don’t understand how else to explain this—no violent thwapping of dough because it’s being kneaded. In contrast to a KitchenAid, you may go away it unattended. This is really easy that I ruined not one however two batches of shokupan with over-kneading earlier than I noticed what was taking place.
{Photograph}: Adrienne So
With the ability to extra exactly calibrate the pace of the blending with a dial as an alternative of the KitchenAid’s 5 settings helped. You possibly can knead it a lot slower and deal with it extra gently with a dial and a spiral mixer than with a KitchenAid.
I additionally love the Halo Professional’s versatile paddle, which is significantly better than the KitchenAid flat paddle. It matches completely towards the bowl’s sides, which implies you may put even the smallest quantities of softened butter and sugar within the bowl, and the paddle will cream them completely. No stopping each few seconds to carry the arm and scrape the edges with a separate spatula, though you’ll in all probability really feel the necessity to try this anyway. I’ve solely had this mixer since February, so I can’t vouch for the paddle’s long-term sturdiness, nevertheless it appears to be holding up nicely.
Lastly, there may be even a mild inside, so that you don’t should have the mixer completely positioned in your kitchen to examine in case your chocolate chips have been nicely distributed within the dough.
Mucho Gusto
{Photograph}: Adrienne So
As you could have guessed, getting a business stand mixer is usually about quantity. Should you’re a bread baker who needs to enhance your one or two weekly loaves for your loved ones, there are cheaper and simpler issues you are able to do that may have a significantly better impact earlier than you put money into one in every of these. (For these ideas, I refer you to Ken Forkish’s guide Flour Water Salt Yeast, which my colleague Kat Merck edited and recipe-tested.)
The Halo Professional’s important competitor is the Ankarsrum stand mixer. It’s lovely and has the identical retro aesthetic because the KitchenAid, if that’s your factor. The Halo Professional has higher specs in some regards. For instance, I received the Halo Professional as much as 345 revolutions per minute versus the Ankarsrum’s measly 130 rpm. The Halo Professional has the inside mild and the versatile paddle, which I preferred fairly a bit.
The key draw back has to do with why folks purchase KitchenAids: You already know they’re going to final a lifetime, and perhaps a number of. Irrespective of how nice any spiral mixer is, it is exhausting to face up towards that form of well-known assure. However for those who’re like me, and you want entertaining in a carby, chaotic approach—pizza! Pretzels! Cinnamon rolls!—getting a much bigger spiral mixer is price it. No extra worrying about making a number of batches, or overheating, or having to babysit your dough. It is also handy for whipping up little batches of this or that within the mornings, too.
