Super useful tool for baking. It is powerful enough for my banking needs.

I bake a lot of bread. I've had this for nearly a week, and it has handled all the dough I've made with ease. I wish there was a way to give half a star, because I would have given it 4.5 stars. The design of the bowl allows liquid to pool in the very bottom, and that liquid does not get incorporated into the dough. As a result, you have to add more liquid which with a very precise recipe could be an issue. The workaround for that with bread dough is to ignore the directions that come with the mixer, Add your liquid last on top of your dry ingredients. I haven't used it for cake batter yet, but I suspect that could also be an issue there, too. I am satisfied with the product. My primary reason for purchasing was so the machine kneads dough, and it does that very well.

Love this mixer. I have used to make doughs and meatballs so far. The ease of use is nice. The attachments are stainless steel, no plastic and it can be used with the kitchen aid attachments on the hub. All the goodies of Kitchen Aid, without the high price. Highly recommend.

The Hamilton Beach Professional isn't not as pretty as a KitchenAid. Some people might overlook this stand mixer because of its dull appearance. However, I would suggest giving the Hamilton Beach Professional a chance, especially if you can't afford to spend $400 on stand mixer. I reassure if you take the chance, you won't regret it because Hamilton Beach Professional is a workhorse. I have used this stand mixer to make a double patch of pretzel dough. I didn't have to stop the machine to scrape bowl while it was running. After five minutes, my pretzel dough was smooth and tacky.